New music is due from Forced Exposure this week from Pan•American, Neon Neon, Aidan Baker and Plurals, and Keiji Haino/Jim O'Rourke/Oren Ambarchi, as well as old music from Gregory Isaacs, Isan, The Boys, and Aaron Dilloway.

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4 MEN WITH BEARDS

SPRINGFIELD, DUSTY: Dusty In Memphis LP (4M 112LP)19.002013 repress. "Dusty grooves in Memphis! Britain's greatest pop diva Dusty Springfield was the finest white soul singer of her era and this landmark Atlantic Records album from 1969 is a masterpiece, a perfect marriage of pop and soul. Contains her top 10 hit 'Son Of A Preacher Man' plus several other hit singles and classic tracks. Dusty In Memphis was picked as the #9 coolest record of all time in the April 11, 2002 issue of Rolling Stone and chosen by Mojo magazine as one of the best 100 albums ever released. A recognized classic around the world! Audiophile remastering from the original master tapes. 180 gram HQ vinyl. original artwork."

ABDUCTION

INVISIBLE HANDS, THE: Insect Dilemma/Disallowed 7" (ABDT 051EP)8.002013 RSD release. [The Invisible Hands is the English translation of the band's original Egyptian Arabic name: El Ayadi El Khafeyya] This is the brand-new project of Alvarius B. (Alan Bishop of Sun City Girls). Recorded in Cairo in October 2012, both tracks on this 7" are not found on the new Invisible Hands self-titled album (ABDT 050CD) and are exclusive to this 45 rpm. Side one is a fully-orchestrated version of two Alvarius B. tracks, one of those tracks, "Insect Dilemma," was included on Sun City Girls' classic 330,003 Crossdressers from Beyond the Rig Veda album from 1996. Side B, "Lili Twil," is a cover of a Moroccan folk song from the early 1970s sung in Arabic by Aya Hemeda. Limited edition one-time pressing with full-color picture sleeve.

ALL CITY DUBLIN (IRELAND)

ANNO STAMM: FragmentsA 12" (ACOS1X12)12.50All City Dublin presents a three-track 12" from Anno Stamm, an alias of Berlin producer Lars Stöwe. Original with a capital "O," Anno Stamm allows him to fiddle about in the undergrowth even further: raw and twisted, dark with a dash of color, and heavy on the drums. Those of a certain vintage should be able to spot the sample on lead track "I Still Have the Photographs." Includes the usual full-color shrink-wrapped artwork with a download code.

ANALOG AFRICA (GERMANY)

SOLO HIT: Imoikeme/Ododo 7" (AADE 003EP)14.00Solo Hit's real name is Ohieirme and he was born in 1954 in Avbiosi, Western Nigeria. The two tracks presented here were released on an earlier LP he did in 1981 when he was still a member of Victor Uwaifo And The Titibitis. Recorded at Uwaifo's Joromi studio, this unique sound was dubbed "Oba Afro Funk," a mixture of Ekassa music and pop sung in the Ora dialect of the Edo language. Special screenprinted sleeves, made in Thailand.

AUS MUSIC (GERMANY)

BICEP: Stash EP 12" (AUS 1346EP)12.00The London-based duo of Andrew Ferguson and Matthew McBriar aka Bicep have played in more than a dozen countries, including major gigs across the U.S., China and, more recently, Australia, scooping the award for DJ Mag's "Best Breakthrough DJ." Across this EP they take things a little deeper, delving into a different area of their own personal taste. What's presented is an overall more lo-fi style and broader approach, drawing from a wide range of influences including King Street Sounds, HBO's The Wire, and Aphex Twin.

AYO SILVER! (SPAIN)

GROWLERS, THE: Gay Thoughts/Uncle Sam's a Dick 10" (AS 002LP)15.50The oft-used description "band that has created its own universe" couldn't hold more certainty than in the case of The Growlers. Their personal imagery does not find comparison in the contemporary rock and roll scene, and is accurately self-described as "beach goth"; a mix of psychedelic vibes and surf twangs, rocking beats with songwriter skills, teenage sex and hobo-esque hipsterism in the tradition of Kerouac. On top of this psychotropic combination, the personal phrasing and unique voice of Brook Nielsen seems to be rising from an opium den or a bustling brothel. Ayo Silver! presents this sharp-looking (and soon-to-be-sold-out!) 10" that combines two of their most celebrated and sought-after 7"s with some extra, unreleased tracks. On one side we find "Gay Thoughts," one of their biggest anthems, a delicious melody spiced up with some Mexican-style trumpets in the best Arthur Lee-style. This hit is accompanied by "Feeling Good," yet another example of the groovy flow which characterizes this band. On the opposite side, "Uncle Sam's a Dick's" soaring bass line serves as an anchor for another melodic gem from Nielsen. "Drinking Song for Kids" is a precious song, in this case, a mid-tempo romp with a sailor's swagger. As if this was not enough, the label has added three songs from their legendary Couples CDR series that they used to give away at the parties held at their warehouse/studio/home. These are collector's items nowadays.

BANG! RECORDS (SPAIN)

PERKINS AND THE BAND OF GOLD, TEX: Tex Perkins and the Band of Gold LP (BANG 067LP)21.00Legendary artist Tex Perkins follows his way in search of rock music roots and releases this wonderful collection of country songs covering some of his favorite American classics. The Band Of Gold's debut teams Perkins with singer Rachael Tidd and band The Tennessee Four. Devoting themselves to covers, the ensemble run down an impeccable list that includes two tunes each by Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard, and Townes Van Zandt, as well as many other country legends. Deep, soulful, dark, tasty, delicate and intense as Tex Perkins knows how to reach and perform. An absolutely delicious and homogenous track collection to make your Sunday morning the start of a great day, or your Saturday evening the start of a great night with your partner.

CHROME CRANKS: Moon in the Mountain LP (BANG 068LP)21.00NYC swamp-noise-blues demons are back with new material. Side A is one track -- a hypnotic, endless, sonic nightmare melting your ears, while side B is raw as fuck, containing five recordings including a cover of Spacemen 3. The Chrome Cranks release this album as a follow-up to their acclaimed 2012 album Ain't No Lies in Blood (BANG 058LP). This extremely weird, raw and killer record is being released to present their 2013 European tour.

HAINO/JIM O'ROURKE/OREN AMBARCHI, KEIJI: Now While It's Still Warm Let Us Pour in All the Mystery CD (BT 009CD)17.00"Following on from 2012's acclaimed Imikizushi (BT 007CD/LP), Now While It's Still Warm Let Us Pour in All the Mystery is the fourth release from the established power trio of Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, and Oren Ambarchi, recorded in January 2012 at their yearly concert at SuperDeluxe, Tokyo. While the trio's two previous double LP releases featured sprawling, side-long performances, the music here is presented in six shorter pieces, each one displaying a different side of the trio's interactions, from holy minimalism to cave-man rock. The record begins with the trio joined by special guests Charlemagne Palestine and Eiko Ishibashi, conjuring ghostly tones from wine glasses as an accompaniment to Haino's angelic vocals. This 10-minute piece, which moves from near silence and the sound of onstage footsteps to a stunning passage of clean guitar work from Haino, is steeped in the same mysterious atmospherics as Haino's great folk-drone project, Nijumu. When Haino turns to the flute on the LP's second track, a performance that clearly demonstrates the importance of the special concept of space and silence (ma) that Haino has developed from traditional Japanese aesthetics, O'Rourke and Ambarchi transform into the delicate and probing rhythm section of a classic '70s fusion side. When the trio returns to the crushing free-rock of their last two records, O'Rourke's heavily effected bass rolling alongside Ambarchi's tumbling rhythms as Haino's guitar squeals and slashes above them, their performances display a new purposefulness and concision. Now truly operating as a band after a number of years of playing together, the pieces here feel like instant rocks songs -- O'Rourke and Ambarchi instantly locking into solid riffs over which Haino alternates between jarring no-wave chords, intense soloing and his signature vocalizations. When the trio slow down and stretch out, the rhythm section plods like an abstracted Crazy Horse on the brink of collapse, and Haino elicits long, mournful solos reminiscent of the first classic Fushitsusha double live LP. Perhaps more accessible than the trio's previous recordings because of its range and concision, Now While It's Still Warm... exudes the dark, alien quality of Haino's greatest recordings and testifies to the strength of the musical bond that has developed between these three players. --Francis Plagne, Jan 2013." Six-panel digipak CD. Design by Stephen O'Malley with high quality live shots by Ujin Matsuo and stunning artwork by Shunichiro Okada.

BLACKEST EVER BLACK (UK)

RAINFOREST SPIRITUAL ENSLAVEMENT: Black Magic Cannot Cross Water LP (BLACKEST 015LP)21.00Blackest Ever Black presents the first vinyl pressing of music by Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement. Two long-form, minimal synth/dark ambient compositions with field recordings. Sourced from a box of cassettes found at a market in Port Moresby, it was thought to be recorded by a group of Christian missionaries prior to their unexplained disappearance during the 1980s. Limited edition of 500 copies only.

BLKRTZ (CANADA)

DEADBEAT: Primordia CD (BLKRTZ 006CD)17.00Originally released on Montreal's long defunct Intr_version label in 2001, Primordia was Scott Monteith's first foray into the album format, and some 13 years on serves as a remarkable document of the driving aesthetic touchstones which even at this early stage were bubbling to the surface and have gone on to define the sound of his Deadbeat project in the many years since. Over the course of seven colossal slabs of crackling digital atmospheres and rumbling drone, a dirge of muted kick drums serve as the only steady anchor in a sea of wildly unhinged and naive sound experimentation, with the whole lovely mess plummeting into an endless cloud of decaying echoes, granular processing, and cracked software reverb plug-ins. With its production coinciding with the first years of his tenure at the Montreal-based music software company Applied Acoustics systems, Primordia is the sound of the young dub Padawan reveling in the endless possibilities of modular software synthesis, and relishing each and every new discovery and mistake along the way. Re-released on CD with re-mastering by long-time friend and cohort Stefan Betke aka Pole, Primordia is an essential cornerstone in Monteith's now vast catalog, and a must-have addition to the collection of any serious dub techno historian.

CLUEKID: Spider Monkey/Rainy Street Light 10" (BOXCL 017EP)11.00Dubstep veteran Cluekid needs little introduction. His best work infuses 140 bpm beats with the DNA of jungle, incorporating a rhythmic flexibility and ubiquitous bassweight with a largely organic sound. "Spider Monkey" was first broken by U.S. dubstep ambassador Joe Nice, with its rolling soca-laced riddims and pounding subs a regular feature of his live sets and radio shows. "Rainy Street Light" mixes shimmering pads from '92 with stand-up bass, sweet piano licks and touches of melodica for a soulful late-night excursion.

BPITCH CONTROL (GERMANY)

VA: Where the Wind Blows CD (BPC 263CD)15.50In the early '90s, the world began taking a shine to a quite curious phenomenon which was still regarded in many places as part of the even more curious genre label IDM. Its protagonists such as Richard James and Autechre created grandiose and bewildering cosmoses of sound whose exponential complexity could only be escaped by departing in the opposite direction -- minimal techno as an escape route to the future. BPitch Control meets this current transition with an ambitious compilation album bearing the fitting title Where the Wind Blows. The name requires little interpretation: seventeen striking and all previously-unreleased tracks from as many artists reveal where the wind could be blowing at BPitch in the future. On board, alongside numerous label veterans such as Kiki, Thomas Muller, Jahcoozi, and label boss Ellen Allien herself, are renowned remixers from the BPitch network, including the Polish DJ duo Viadrina and the Irish-Canadian Amirali. Of course, a fresh wind means completely new input as well. So it comes as no surprise that the BPitch circle has been expanded to include a few more illustrious names such as Tomas Barfod, Douglas Greed and Mooryc, as well as Joy Wellboy who adorns the album with a cool, soulful-electronic, down-tempo gem. The transition from highly structured minimalism to atmospheric, song-oriented alternative electronica is a strong thread running through the entire album. It offers Telefon Tel Aviv's dramatic soundscapes just as much room as Dillon's distinctive, almost painfully intense singer-songwriter sketches. The label boss delivers very uncharacteristic cerebral cinema soundtrack, almost rocky in its driving rhythm; Chaim combines house and space-disco elements; mechanical sound specialist Thomas Muller serves up a piece that could almost be interpreted as tech-house parody; and Hercules And Love Affair singer Aérea Negrot takes us by surprise by revealing a naive-poppy side that no one would have previously suspected. The high proportion of vocal tracks on Where the Wind Blows underlines the commitment to color and the shift towards a new emotionality. Other artists include Mr. Statik (feat. Beatrice Ballabile), Camea, David K, and Apparat.

CATUNE (JAPAN)

SORCERER: Step Pyramid/Universal Vision 12" (CATUNE 049EP)15.00"Dan Judd (Windsurf) is Sorcerer. Side A's 'Step Pyramid' works perfectly on dance floors keeping the melodies minimal, but with bright synth sounds and vocal cut up loops lock you into a breezing groove, and also features a remix by Traks Boys. Side B's 'Universal Vision,' also a DJ friendly cut, features vocals and synth, and a remix by The Beat Broker."

CHAPTER MUSIC (AUSTRALIA)

BEACHES: She Beats LP (CH 107LP)17.00LP version with download code. Sprawling Melbourne psych-rock five-piece Beaches return with second album She Beats. Their self-titled debut emerged on Mistletone Records in 2008, making the Australian Music Prize shortlist for that year and featuring in 2010 book 100 Best Australian Albums. In the intervening years, the band have toured the U.S. twice, played All Tomorrow's Parties at the invitation of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, released an EP for NYC label Mexican Summer, and shared stages with the likes of Roky Erickson, Deerhunter, and Wooden Shjips. For She Beats, Beaches have once again joined forces with producer Jack Farley (Twerps, Scott & Charlene's Wedding). And like its predecessor, the album reflects a love for '60s pop, '70s psych, shoe-gaze, prog, southern boogie and Krautrock. But She Beats is bigger, bolder and more ambitious than the debut. For one thing, German guitar icon Michael Rother of Neu!/Harmonia features on two tracks. The band formed a bond with Rother at ATP in Melbourne in 2009, and he invited himself along to their recording sessions during his next Oz tour in 2012. One of these tracks, the cascading sonic swirl "Distance," was premiered on Gorilla vs. Bear and racked up 15k Soundcloud plays within a week. Elsewhere, "Veda" sees the band extending hypnotically eastward, while droning cello scrapes introduce "Tanzanite." On the other end of the spectrum, tracks like "Send Them Away," "Out of Mind," and "Runaway" are upfront, glorious pop, though still heady with Beaches' dreamy guitar heroics. All up, She Beats is rich, confident and layered, a multi-dimensional sonic world to get lost in over and over again. Beaches are Antonia Sellbach (guitar/vocals), Alison Bolger (guitar/vocals), Ali McCann (guitar/vocals), Gill Tucker (bass/vocals), and Karla Way (drums/vocals).

CIRCLE MUSIC (GERMANY)

VENOLA, CHRIS: Sixteen Miles CD (CIRCLE 014CD)17.00Italy's Chris Venola began his musical journey in the mid-'90s. Starting with and inspired by the piano, he began his career in 2005 under the pseudonym Silentalk, when he remixed the French band Curl. Over the years, numerous EPs and remixes were released on various international labels, now Chris is working with Circle Music. Here he was given the opportunity to release Sixteen Miles, a successful tech-house debut. The album opens with the relaxed track "I'll Be There," which was created in collaboration with Andrea Introvigne & Kira. Slowly building up and featuring the vocals of Tania Furia, the breakbeat track "Break U" follows -- this lightweight touch of Berlin electro can also be found on the track "Stars." Actually, the whole album is very diverse in sound. Besides relaxing deep house tracks like "Illusion" or "You," there are also some tech-house tracks with a lot of drive like "Mountague Mastermind," right next to melodic house tunes such as "Everytime." All tracks have been arranged with passion, refined with vocals and produced with unique emotional and still clubby sounds and grooves. Contributing studio partners such as Frank Lee, Vinny Samuels and Tania Furia, Andrea Introvigne and Kira gave the album a strong song-character without losing focus on the dancefloor. This is the start of a new chapter for both Venola and Circle Music.

CIRCUS COMPANY (FRANCE)

PUSHKAREV, ANDREY: Gingo Biloba 12" (CCS 074EP)12.00Andrey Pushkarev presents his debut single for Circus Company. Gingo Biloba is the perfect realization of time spent studying and understanding what makes a great track. These are tracks made by a DJ for a DJ, finding the ideal groove and riding it hypnotically to melt seamlessly into neighboring tunes. Andrey shares with us a vision of the perfect lead-in to a long night, where crisp, elegant drums move with purpose while dubby trails of synth and vapor weave around them.

CLERMONT MUSIC

VA: Live from Festival au Desert, Timbuktu CD (CLE 2013001CD)12.00Two days before the 2012 rebellion in northern Mali. Soldiers are everywhere. Guns mounted on pickups; low-flying surveillance planes. Several thousand people have gathered outside Timbuktu to celebrate the music and culture of the Sahara at the 12th edition of the Festival au Desert. Three months later, Sharia descends on northern Mali. A millennial history is suppressed. Shrines destroyed. Secular music banned. Before, the streets were alive with music. Weddings, baptisms, celebrations always accompanied by griot praise songs, takamba dance rhythms and electric guitars. Then, even a musical ringtone on your portable phone can bring a beating. The Festival au Desert's mission has been to bring cross-cultural exchange to economically develop this desert region. These recordings are a testament to the brave efforts of Festival organizers to use culture as a means of non-violent reconciliation. From the stage, all the musicians begged for peace. "La Paix" shouted Khaira Arby. "Democracy" sang Tartit. And the crowds cheered their agreement. Capturing some of the excitement and fear of the people of northern Mali in January 2012, these 18 tracks were recorded directly from the house sound board. It was not possible to bring complex equipment. It is not possible to include every artist who performed. Mixed and mastered in the U.S., this release preserves a moment in the history of the Sahara. Proceeds from the sale of this album go directly to the artists and the Festival organization. Other artists include: Alhassan Souleyman, Mohamed Alasho, Habib Koite, Ali Farka Toure Allstars (feat. Mamadou Kelly), Bassekou Kouyate, Imharhan, Tamnana, Amanar, Noura Mint Seymali, Samba Toure, Igbayen, Baba Djire, Kiran Alhuwalia (feat. Tinariwen), Douma Maiga, Oumar Konate (feat. Leila Gobi), and Koudede.

CLR (GERMANY)

TRAVERSABLE WORMHOLE: Traversable Wormhole Vol. 6-10 CD (CLR 012CD)17.00Traversable Wormhole returns to CLR after a huge success in the techno scene with the digital releases and remixes of volumes 1-5. The present offering on CLR contains all songs from volumes 6-10, originally released on 12" vinyl only. The first anonymously-produced ink-stamped vinyls under the mysterious guise Traversable Wormhole appeared on the global techno scene in the spring of 2009. At this time nobody knew who was behind the project and the mystique continued to grow with each new record until volume 6, when Adam X finally revealed himself as the creator of the much-hailed productions in a Resident Advisor interview in 2010. One crucial anecdote which eventually led to the digital releases and the massive remix project on CLR took place at the Berghain club in Berlin, where Adam met Chris Liebing and asked him about some highly positive remarks he had made about the mysterious act on Twitter. Chris immediately guessed that Adam was the originator of those tracks and insisted until he actually had to admit it -- making Chris one of the very first persons to know the key to the mystery. It's quite significant that this conversation took place at the Berghain, as it was the club and its infamous residents that originally inspired Adam X to write this music. The story of Traversable Wormhole is the remarkable story of a well-known artist who successfully bypassed all possible preconceptions by just bringing out the music he wanted to hear in his favorite club under a new and unknown moniker. The concept worked smoothly, as he had the complete scene stunned and wondering about the origin of this exciting sound from day one. He had instantly convinced everybody with innovation and quality, even those who might not have given him as the artist Adam X a proper chance at this very moment. Needless to say, that the quality of the tracks continued to be consistently excellent and the genre-crossing mix of straight-up, post-modern techno and industrial music beyond trends and hypes works just as well in the present volumes 6-10 as it did in the volumes 1-5. Stripped-down, sci-fi laden productions with unconventional beat structures, bass, rhythm and noise -- a formula that has in one way or the other always been the essence of Adam X's artistic output.

COLD SPRING RECORDS (UK)

IRON FIST OF THE SUN: Who Will Help Me Wash My Right Hand LP (CSR 179LP)21.00LP version, limited to 200 copies on yellow vinyl. New full-length album by English artist Iron Fist Of The Sun. Continuing on his path of exploratory yet focused industrial, and his trademark clean, detailed power electronics that was first heard on his debut for Cold Spring, Behavioural Decline (CSR 116CD), Who Will Help Me Wash My Right Hand is a frantic mix of structure and chaos, less violent than previous releases but instead drenched in melancholy and bitterness.

C.S. CREW: Funky Pack LP (COS 006LP)20.00LP version. "The C.S. Crew's Funky Pack can be best described as Nigeria's own blend of Kool & the Gang, Mandrill, and the Ohio Players with a Moog synthesizer thrown in for good measure. Reissued for the first time this late '70s Nigerian raw funk masterpiece album includes bonus tracks from the related group Youths of the Universe and liner notes written by Comb and Razor label owner and Nigerian record collector extraordinaire, Uchenna Ikonne. Funky Pack features nine cuts of rare Nigerian funk."

CUT MISTAKE MUSIC

JOHN HUGHES DAYDREAM: John Hughes Daydream LP (CMM 010LP)14.00John Hughes Daydream is a project born in Brooklyn with one foot straddled across the East River to a 12th floor studio overlooking Broadway. Conceived and created in the digital realm between binary electronic vibrations and silver screen inspirations, this release was born as a daydream and conceived in a haze. Our city is a river, a sea of imagination, with memories swirling and crashing. The beginning is the end -- the end is the beginning, the front is the back. Everything is back to front. Sit back, relax, close your eyes. You are in the back of a yellow Crown Vic New York taxi cab. Today life is a thriller, John Hughes Daydream is your driver, and dream-weaver. Let us take you away for the day. Available in a full-color jacket LP created by Brooklyn-based visual artists Masha Matveeva and Aik Safaryan.

DELSIN (NETHERLANDS)

BLEAK: Origins of Chaos 12" (DSR 097EP)12.50Sweden's Bleak is fast becoming an essential part of his country's techno new school. Here he debuts on Delsin with a fierce two tracker. "Sixteen Crude" is a cantering techno cut with searing, warbling synths racing along above lazier, underlapping kicks. "Subject Target" deals in more convoluted, whip-snap lines that thrash about like cables in a storm. Industrial yet human, it's timeless techno that wraps you up in its midst and never lets you go.

HERVA: What I Feel EP 12" (DSR E2-EP)12.50Italy's Herva serves up four new tracks for the second in Delsin's electronica series. They see him move away from the house of his debut, and instead explore atmospheric worlds of sound that are part techno, part IDM, and part something all together new.

DIAL (GERMANY)

QUEENS: End Times CD (DIAL 027CD)17.00Scott Mou, known as one-half of the duo Jane -- the folk techno drone duo he had with Panda Bear -- as well as part of Manhattan's famous record store Other Music, debuts with his solo project, Queens. Johan Jacobsen describes the wonderful music of Queens "in oxymorons; 'colorful monochrome,' 'myopic depth,' 'sad joy,' 'driven slowness,' 'enlightened darkness,' 'universal intimacy,' 'ethereal earthboundness.' As it should be. Queens is one of those wonderful artists who are hard to catch on the fly, who escapes easy definition. His music is an unexpected and unimagined universe ready to be explored, and it's a universe that is wonderful to be in." When Dial Records' David Lieske and Peter Kersten listened to a performance of their New York based friend in 2009, it was one of those unforgettable, unique experiences you only have once in a long while these days. The idea of releasing an album was born. The production of End Times involved other label-mates such as Phillip Sollmann aka Efdemin (recording), Kassian Troyer (mixing) and Hendrik Weber, who once joined a life performance on stage with Scott Mou in 2012.

DIGITALIS

PHYSICS: Spectramorphic Iridescence LP (DIGI 051LP)20.00Resident Los Angeles android, [PHYSICS] unveils his debut LP Spectramorphic Iridescence for the Digitalis label. Glazed electronics and polymorphic beats run through wetware enhancements left behind by future civilizations. Even with the neuron-popping hooks from opener "Anodyne Dream" or the crystalline "Isosceles Trapezoid" acting like sandman for your brain, there's a dark undercurrent running throughout Spectramorphic Iridescence. Death-march rhythms snake through "Emerald Forest," adding an extra sinister layer to all the cryptic stabs. As it bleeds deftly into "The Keep," it's the ghost trapped in the machine, tortured into obsolescence. [PHYSICS] continues pounding the electricity, waiting for the last voice to drown beneath the bloated, cybernetic waves. Moments of sonic ecstasy filter in when they can, though, finding heavy tranquility cycles with "Realization" and album closer, "Ultimate L." Its over-the-top, sugary synthetics laced with all aural opiates you need. "Ultimate L," especially, achieves maximal catharsis through countless layers of slowly-evolving tones. [PHYSICS] have crafted an album steeped in cyberpunk lore, complete with neon death rays and jacked-in viruses. Spectramorphic Iridescence weaves a singular narrative through thoughtful sequencing and impressive songwriting. Before the end it manages to sing its dystopian hymns like a mythic artificial intelligence finally freed from its VR prison. Cut to vinyl by Lupo at Dubplates + Mastering, Berlin.

DIRTER PROMOTIONS (UK)

JUNKO AND KYLIE MINOISE: Nature CD (DPROM 102CD)16.50Recorded live in a studio in Glasgow, Scotland with no overdubs, Nature sees legendary Hijokaidan high priestess of transcendental shriek Junko go head-to-head with UK harsh noise and feedback mangler Kylie Minoise. Nature throws out wave after wave of gigantic, blistering sonic fractal obliteration with unrelentingly joyous convulsions of searing euphoria. The sound of reality repeatedly collapsing in on itself and then exploding outwards, shattering into white hot shards of screaming bliss. Higher consciousness through exquisite frequency overload. The CD is packaged in a beautiful six panel fold-out cockpack and finished in a non-scratch laminate coating. Limited to 500 copies.

MORGAN, SCOTT: Three Chords and a Cloud of Dust 3CD BOX (EAR 044CD)37.00"Career spanning anthology of Detroit guitar legend Scott Morgan containing key tracks from his 40+ years of performing and writing. From his beat combo The Rationals' version of 'Respect' through the legendary years as a member of the Sonics Rendezvous Band. Then teaming up with one of the most exciting rock bands of the time The Hellacopters, through forming the Hydromatics -- who laid waste to most of Europe with their updated versions of SRB tracks and on to the Soul Revue Solution based in Sweden and formed with Hellacopter Nicke Andersson. The set contains many unreleased tracks including studio cuts from the short lived Guardian Angel and rare recordings of 7" singles. The in depth liner notes are written by Scott's ex manager Geoff Ginsberg."

ENDLESS FLIGHT (JAPAN)

EDDIE C: Remixed 12" (EF 054EP)15.50First remix single cut from the Eddie C album Country City Country. Two new producers remix -- one is Italian edit master Marvin & Guy, whose remix is simply killer for the dancefloor. Bright hope from Australia Tornado Wallace reconstructed the original of a Krautrock-oriented tune into excellent psychedelic slow-mo house. It's for the fan of Quiet Village or Andrew Weatherall.

ERGOT RECORDS

DILLOWAY, AARON: Corpse on Horseback LP (ER 001LP)18.00"Ergot Records inaugural release: Aaron Dilloway's Corpse on Horseback. Originally released as a cassette on Hanson Records in 2003, this marks the first time that this classic 10 year old recording of ultra crude 8-track tape junk metal loops is available on vinyl. Limited edition of 500 copies on gold wax."

FACES RECORDS (GERMANY)

TABLEEK PRESENTS TABULA RASA: Mastapiece Theater 7" (FACES 704EP)11.00Dope new 7" on this sweet little beat series on Faces. Tableek is known for lacing knowledge on the mic with the likes of Jazz Liberators, Mitsu The Beats, Harvey Lindo aka Modaji, O.Boogie, and MASPYKE. Shining the shoes of hip-hop as we know it, he's back with a two-track featuring Blacastan, Stan Illa, and Daktur Banff on the production. Available on a limited 7" vinyl (300 copies) with craft brown paper bag sleeve as part of the "children of the drum and repetitive beats lovers" series.

FANIA RECORDS

BATAAN, JOE: Riot! LP (SLP 354LP)11.00"Joe Bataan's 1968 album Riot! blends Latin rhythms, '60s soul, and jazz into instrumental funk and mellow ballads. A deep and heavy-hitting record that sees Bataan working in top form with a large and talented band."

FIRE (UK)

BOYS, THE: The Boys 2CD (FIRE 285CD)18.50Special edition deluxe reissue; originally released in 1977. "Digitally re-mastered to the highest quality (personally overseen by Dangerfield) and featuring sleeve notes by Dave Henderson of Mojo along with song listing notes by Dangerfield." Includes a bonus CD of previously-unreleased material.

BOYS, THE: Alternative Chartbusters 2CD (FIRE 286CD)18.50"On 17 March 1978, a mere six months after the release of their self-titled debut, a second album Alternative Chartbusters followed -- once again produced by Dangerfield and Steel. Digitally re-mastered to the highest quality (personally overseen by Dangerfield) and featuring sleeve notes by Dave Henderson of Mojo along with song listing notes by Dangerfield." Includes a bonus CD of previously-unreleased material.

LOWER PLENTY: Hard Rubbish/Mean 2LP (FIRE 326LP)25.50"Raw and delicate, Hard Rubbish was recorded on eight-track reel-to-reel tape, often in just a single take. Their folk-tinged indie rock is flecked with experimentation whilst retaining a firm hold on some fantastically memorable melodies. With a non-traditional set-up of two guitars, drums, and processed percussion with four vocals - Lower Plenty are set to take us on a very exciting ride." Includes the debut album, Mean.

FORMULA (UK)

CHAMPION: Prince Jammy/Hydra Island 12" (FRMW 001EP)11.00Prolific UK funky producer Champion steps up for his first 2013 release. On this strictly-limited, white label-style, vinyl-only outing, "Prince Jammy" finds Champion in familiar territory, with quick-fast, sharp drums and claps anchoring the percussion and his signature guttural bass line in full gear, making this one another addition to the already glowing catalog of buy-on-sight releases from this artist. "Hydra Island" is propelled by the infectious, swinging rhythm of ultra-crispy bongo drums and low-end bass melody that will keep the dancefloor moving.

FREUDE AM TANZEN (GERMANY)

KAROCEL: This One EP 12" (FREUDE 063EP)12.00Karocel is the three ring event of Marbert Rocel, Mathias Kaden, and Michael Nagler. As a taste of the first album, Karocel released the debut EP. It was additionally refined with this -- a Wareika remix. Fitting, because they also target the club-on-the-stage and the reverse. The EP is not only a teaser to an album; here, there is something that will satisfy your appetite.

FUNKEN (GERMANY)

RANDWEG: Equisetales LP (FUNKEN 001LP)17.00Funken presents Berlin-based solo clarinet-player and performer Andreas Ernst aka Randweg with his first album Equisetales. Randweg portrays the theme of a journey that moves (and represents a thread between) while sketching the tiny little things beside the pathway. Following his debut tracks and collaborations with Ellen Allien on Sool, and live appearances with as well as a contribution to Der Dritte Raum's Swing Bop, Ernst presents nine tracks on Equisetales with a Krautrock and jazz flair, coupled with ethereal sonic environments, and a surprising variety of sounds that come from his clarinet. It could be said that Equisetales is carefully sequenced to a narrative structure: beginning with "Army of Ants," a 5/4 time signature track that almost visualizes the vitality of formicary, and then ending in the mellow wilderness of "Yofa." Randweg utilizes few electronic instruments. Clarinet and the natural resonances of organic materials (usually by way of home-made contraptions) become his main instruments, and as his live shows often attest to, Andreas Ernst can almost even turn full audience into a woodwind capable of producing beautiful music.

GET ON DOWN

MANSFIELD, JOE: Beat Box: A Drum Machine Obsession TR-909 BOOK/2x7" (GET 2002BK)21.002013 RSD release. "This unique release detailing the history of the TR-909 is excerpted from the upcoming coffee table book by one of America's foremost collector of drum machines, Joe Mansfield. This special 20 page book filled with original advertising, technical specs, and tons of photos will delight collectors and music fans alike. Included are two flexi-discs, one clear and one orange, featuring the sounds of the TR-909, narrated by the great Schoolly D, with cuts by DJ 7L. Also included are instrumental remakes of Schoolly D's hits 'P.S.K.' and 'Gucci Time,' created with the 909."

GET PHYSICAL MUSIC (GERMANY)

SMASH TV: Full Body Workout Vol. 10 CD (GPM 061CD)12.50Welcome to another edition of Get Physical's influential series, Full Body Workout. In celebration of their 10th volume, the label has a couple of surprises in store, digging deep to bring you some of the most innovative sounds; from classic favorites like Javier Logares and Tiger Stripes to amazing additions from Just Be and Nolan. Smash TV return to the compilation with another bomb "Stop Me," and the unstoppable duo also mixed the entire release. Everyone's favorite summer track "Ninety Five" by Flashmob gets a remix from Argy. And as always, Get Physical loves to ask their buddies to mix the compilation. Last time they asked Simon Baker, whose mix sold out almost immediately. This time, the beloved Smash TV boys are up. You'll love what they've done with it just as much as you love their epic, extended sets. A little slice of Berlin club culture at its finest for your very own. Other artists include: Dachshund & Quenum, Chris James, Simon Baker, and Sonartek & Andrea.

BLUNT, DEAN: The Redeemer CD (HIP 025CD)15.50"London-based artist Dean Blunt presents his first official solo LP, The Redeemer, released via his own World Music imprint and Hippos in Tanks. The Redeemer proceeds with a yet more direct and heartfelt message, and a notable lifting of the veil of tape hiss and blurred signifiers that characterized Blunt's previous work."

HUMAN EAR MUSIC (GERMANY)

PISARO, MICHAEL: Tombstones CD (HEMK 026CD)15.50The long-awaited, groundbreaking, pop album by acclaimed composer Michael Pisaro. Featuring Julia Holter, Tashi Wada, Cassia Streb and Rob Esler. "Voice: soft, pure (no vibrato), more like folk or pop singing than lieder singing." -- from the book of scores. "I began writing these pieces with a question in mind: what happens to old political songs?" -- Michael Pisaro, 2011. Tombstones reconstitutes the ghost of the voice. Slipping down the inexorable mountain-slope of tones in "New Orleans," or bearing mute witness to the dark octaves that loom over Julia Holter's delicate vocal on "Silent Cloud," you get the feeling that Tombstones, like Pierre Klossowski's viscous, spinning Baphomet, wants to draw all histories out into the open, and to make them speak. MP: "The tombstones take tiny fragments of old and not-so-old songs and put them into an experimental music situation, introducing them to a kind of chaos, where the arrangement of the written-out material is up for grabs." Each "tombstone," as these tracks are called, is literally a "sampled" bit of structure, tuning, lyricism, beat, or phrasing; a mystery moment sourced from perhaps, The Beatles, DJ Screw, Bob Dylan, and UGK, to name a few. MP: "I selected performances with this question in mind: did the song happen?" Pisaro boils the archetype of sampling down to a fragment of intention, the groundwork of a sound, at once beyond the reach, and at the origin of the act of editing. In other words, it's the knowledge-seeker's paradox in music. While it is not possible to know all there is in creation, it is quite possible to distill the elegant, simple processes at its heart. In the band, electronics are conspicuously absent (but not forbidden). Two electric guitars (played by Grier and Pisaro) appear. Otherwise, Tombstones relies on a rather economical spread of acoustic instruments and percussion, some conventional, some not-so-conventional. The pulsating drones of harmonium (Tashi Wada, Julia Holter) and e-bow guitar anchor the field with unwavering strings (Cassia Streb, Laura Steenberge) and flute (Kelly Coats) performed without a hint of vibrato. Percussionist Rob Esler offers a surprising range of naturalistic (sometimes eerily synthesizer-like) performances that aim for halo more than punctuation. Vocalists Janet Kim, Julia Holter, Laura Steenberge, and Lisa Tolentino each approach their performances in unique ways. Pisaro's composition technique preserves the experimental situation within a realm of trust and wonder. On "Fool," we have one impossibly protracted line from the hook to UGK's rap ballad "One Day." But a closer look at the score reveals not an act of dissection, nor a state of chance, but a state of trust. The ensemble must feel out for how long to make a sound. They must choose, upon instinct, when to start and when to stop. Pisaro offers only just-so-many-notes, or just-so-few dynamic markings, like a blind descent.

EHLERS, EKKEHARD: Betrieb CD (HEMK 028CD)15.50Ekkehard Ehlers' essential electronica opus sees a breathtakingly warm analog revival. Before lo-fi tape hiss and filter murk became the preferred ways of fucking up your music, all we had to rely on was the glitch. The early 2000s were the swingin' glitch years, when clicking, skipping, beat-repeat and buffer-delay seeped into every ontological stratum of music-making. But it wasn't just flashy winks teased into indie pop-dance, facile quasiclassical crossover, and bookish sound art. Glitch was a grand, sweeping sea-change in how people listened to recorded music. The idea that the act of editing was now elemental, unconcealed; that seems to be the legacy of experimental electronica's golden years. And at the heart of it all seemed to lie this curious little album by Ekkehard Ehlers, made of nothing more than mash-ups of two of the previous century's musical sea-changers, Arnold Schönberg and Charles Ives. A high concept, even for haughty times. Not exactly the stuff of poetical dreams, right? But in the decade to follow, Ehlers would become well-known for balancing the heart precariously upon the intellectual sword. In his follow-up to Betrieb, the Ekkehard Ehlers Plays series, the mere thought of Cornelius Cardew and Albert Ayler were brought to bear upon a new tradition that had yet to figure out how it felt about feeling. And as any proper first album should, Betrieb could have no better stated this mission of pitting concept against intuition. To this day, Betrieb continues to articulate the epistemology of its era, as much as it offers timeless auditory delights. HEM's 24bit remaster represents a significant update to the original sound. The original masters were transferred to 1/2" tape, and then treated to a remarkable journey through hand-wound patch cables, bespoke acoustics and humming transistors. Ehlers' music not only stands up to the analog treatment, it shines: clicks and pops have become fuzzy, glowing points of starlight, while once-foggy atmospherics have become layered, multidimensional skeins of strings and smoke. Betrieb was once the thinking-man's feeling-music (or the feeling-man's thinking-music). But it is now, simply, a transportive listening experience: finally the monument it always aimed to be.

IMMUNE

SVARTE GREINER/LAKES OF GRASS AND GOLD: Landscape of Open Eyes 7" (IMMUNE 028EP)7.502013 RSD release. "A split 7" featuring film music inspired atmospheres and organic lamentations from Swedish musician Erik Enocksson aka Lakes of Grass and Gold and Norwegian musician Erik Skodvin aka Svarte Greiner. Limited to only 700 copies for the world the 7" is packaged in a full color jacket and includes a free download coupon."

IMPORTANT RECORDS

HOLY SONS: My Only Warm Coals CD (IMPREC 372CD)14.00"My Only Warm Coals neatly sums up a fifteen year span of Emil Amos' basement home-recording in nineteen songs. Using the four-track like a mirror in LSD therapy sessions, Amos disassembles himself and leaves the puddle on the floor for the listener to contemplate without easy resolution. The record also arcs a period of 'lo-fi' recording technique and sonic experimentation that has largely gone undocumented in the larger underground culture, while epitomizing a supremely alienated sound from a person who wouldn't set foot on a stage for most of these fifteen years."

SCHICKERT, GUNTER: Samtvogel CD (IMPREC 380CD)14.00"Gunter Schickert is a German musician born 25th April 1949. He learned to play trumpet in 1962, but taught himself guitar in 1967 and made that his main instrument. In 1971 he started playing free jazz, then in 1973 made his first solo echo-guitar sessions. In 1976 he formed the group GAM with Axel Struk and Michael Leske. There are records that come from the soul. No matter how primitive may be the recording techniques the musician has access to, the soul gets its way to the heart and mind of the listener. Samtvogel is one of those records. Günter Schickert recorded that amazing piece of human greatness in 1974, using the media he had at the time, putting his brain at work to find the best way of taping everything he had to say. 'When I was recording Samtvogel in 1974 I had only two tape recorders. I played one track and while listening I added the second one. And so on. Four times. When I mixed all together I borrowed a third tape recorder. And still added the last track to the master. I had a small mixer with two stereo and one mono but it was possible to pan tracks. No equalization. It all came out of my still living G2000 Dynacord guitar amplifier, of course valve, with no master, even the voice recorded through it. If I made a mistake in 1 track I had to repeat it from the beginning. And if while mixing I was not fast enough in changing the tape I had to start again. So it took me more than 3 months to get ready.' Thanks to these three months of work, between June and September of 1974, Samtvogel was privately issued that same year. It would later be issued on the Brain label, with a small change in the artwork -- titles added to the front cover, which weren't on the original private pressing. Brain also reissued it on the label's Rock on Brain LP series, this time with a completely different sleeve. The album contained two tracks on side one and just one on side two, and its sound has often been compared to the most explorative works of Syd Barret -- however it must be pointed out that Schickert did not need any mind spreading substances to allow his sounds to float out of his mind and soul, they just came out in the most natural way. It will also appeal to fans of the echoed atmospheric guitar work of other krautrock innovators such as Ash Ra Temple, Manuel Götsching or A.R. & The Machines, and some may find on the vocal passages certain resemblances to Damo Suzuki on Can's Tago Mago era."

XIU XIU & EUGENE S. ROBINSON PRESENT: Sal Mineo CD (IMPREC 381CD)14.00"Sal Mineo is a Jamie Stewart/XIU XIU + Eugene S. Robinson/Oxbow production. Now sleep tight. Sitting at the crossroads between Oxbow's Eugene S. Robinson (lyrics/voice) and Xiu Xiu's Jamie Stewart (music), Sal Mineo is a pure/impure distillate of experimentalism based on 30 second to three minute long focused bursts of sonic crime, that plumbs the cooling depths of a pleasure cruised death trip. These two undisputed heavyweights of musical and emotional non-compromise, whose music leaves tender bruises by whatever sweet blow it is rendered, are ready to crack rooms in two with their high precision silencer of a duo show, combining the best and most free-roaming of both their artistic domains."

INNOVATIVE LEISURE

EL KHATIB, HANNI: Family/Penny 12" (IL 1043EP)9.00"The two lead singles from Hanni El Khatib's second LP, Head in the Dirt. Where 'Family' is an over-cranked Stooges-style romper, 'Penny' is a stuck in your head pop hit. The album is a follow up to the highly-acclaimed Will the Guns Come Out, and was produced and recorded by Dan Auerbach in Nashville."

EL KHATIB, HANNI: Head in the Dirt CD (IL 2011CD)13.50"Head in the Dirt, produced by Dan Auerbach, is the second album by Hanni El Khatib, where he takes a lucky eleven songs and makes the entire history of rebel music something all his own. He's got cut-to-the-bone rhythm 'n' blues and overcranked Stooges-style stompers. He's got bottomless Black Sabbath riff-outs and dub-a-delic garageland rockers that call up the spirits of the Clash and the Equals both. By the end of Head in the Dirt, you'll realize that El Khatib actually made something out of everything."

JACKPOT RECORDS

JANDEK: Jandek Vinyl Box Set 3LP (JPR 024LP)75.002013 RSD release. "Three essential Jandek recordings from one of the most respected but least heard artists of our time. Set includes: the outsider masterpiece Chair Beside a Window (1982), the haunting and lonely Six and Six (1981), and the murky, but delicate debut Ready for the House (1978). Jandek's past three decades of intense productivity have created 72 releases, yielded a depth of discussion amongst critics and fans, a feature length documentary, and only a smattering of live performances. Tribute CDs featuring Bright Eyes, Low, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, and Mountain Goats help to illustrate Jandek's influence on today's artists. No amount of time or experience can prepare a listener for the experience of Jandek. Working in direct collaboration with Corwood Industries, Jackpot Records is thrilled to offer this heavyweight vinyl edition box set for Record Store Day 2013. Limited to 500 hand numbered copies. Includes three exclusive posters and insert."

JAMAICAN RECORDINGS (UK)

ZUKIE, TAPPA: M.P.L.A. Sessions LP (JRSLP 001LP)20.002013 RSD release. The great M.P.L.A. (KSCD 042CD/LP) album got its first release in 1976, the same year that also saw the release of Tapper Zukie in Dub. A misconception is that the M.P.L.A. album is the vocal version of the dub album. But on closer inspection, you can see that only five of the rhythms correspond to both sets and new rhythms were added to make the In Dub set. The reasons were firstly to make it different from the M.P.L.A. album and secondly, other rhythms were chosen at the time to enhance the dub set. As Tapper Zukie himself explains, "Well, I was very impressed with the Joe Gibbs Better Dub album that was out at the time and wanted to make a similar album that would be as strong as that. So I put the Tapper in Dub album together as a 500-run album so we could sell it on the tour we were doing in England in 1976 on the back of the M.P.L.A. album. I added some new rhythms to some we had used on that album, as I thought they added something to it and would kinda make it run/sound tuffer." So for the first time, Jamaican Recordings has put the vocal version alongside its dub counterpart to get a feeling of how they would have worked together in that context. M.P.L.A. Sessions pulls together the corresponding vocal cuts from the M.P.L.A. album and the dub versions found on the In Dub set to add a little something nice to the dance, and with Tapper's consent, the dub cut to "Marcus" -- "Marcus Dub" to "make this set run also." So sit back and enjoy where vocal meets version.

JAZZMAN RECORDS (UK)

SIGN OF FOUR, THE: Hammer, Anvil & Stirrup CD (JMAN 056CD)12.50Oscillating and reverberating chaotically through sonic orbs and polyphonic sound textures, The Sign Of Four is a new creative concept from the Natural Yogurt Band's Miles Newbold. Hammer, Anvil & Stirrup is the debut album from The Sign Of Four on Jazzman Records and is spread exquisitely across 2x10" LPs in hand-printed sleeves and a digipack CD. Recorded live at Chicken Shack studios in Nottingham, real musical instruments are used to create a swirling jungle of throbbing palpitations, evoking the spaced-out vibes of an unsound mind. It's an infectious fermentation of debauched instrumental chaos, sometimes calming, but often unnerving, that will leave the listener bewildered, wide-eyed and gasping for more. The 11-track album also contains two tracks from Sun Suite, an alternative incarnation of The Sign Of Four, that see out the release in a less chaotic fashion, a sonic antidote to the preceding pandemonium.

KEYHOLE (UK)

VELVET UNDERGROUND, THE: At the End of Cole Ave. - The First Night 2LP (KH 9003LP)31.002LP version on 180 gram vinyl. The Velvet Underground were arguably at their live peak in late 1969. Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule (who'd replaced John Cale a full year previously) had developed into a sensationally tight and adventurous quartet, and this show -- the first of two recorded on consecutive nights before a tiny audience in Dallas, Texas -- is unquestionably one of the finest surviving documents of them in performance. Remastered sound and background notes included on printed insert.

KILL ROCK STARS

HANDS: Synesthesia CD (KRS 570CD)10.00"Hands makes music like a rip tide, swirling in overlapping loops and riffs, slowly enveloping you. The group's members -- Geoff Halliday, Ryan Sweeney, Sean Hess, and Alex Staniloff -- craft their hypnotic sound from a single dropping note that builds into a reverberating roar that crashes over you like a wave. It's a mesmerizing trick that they pull off on their debut LP, Synesthesia."

KOLSCH: Speicher 75 12" (KOM EX075EP)12.00For Speicher 75, label staple and world-venerated club juggernaut Kölsch returns to the series with two expectedly masterful epics for the discerning floor. "Goldfisch" is a deliriously beautiful track full of shimmering pads and cinemascopic chords. A soaring trip to the eye of the storm, this will enchant hopers and mopers alike, making it the perfect primer for "Zig," the B-side's majestic prime time mover. Here, you'll find fizzy percussion and spanking disco riddims leading the way to melodic bliss.

KRANKY

PAN AMERICAN: Cloud Room, Glass Room CD (KRANK 175CD)13.00"With percussionist extraordinaire Steven Hess now a full-fledged member, Mark Nelson and Pan American deliver their first new album since White Bird Release in 2009. This collection of new sounds began with the duo rehearsing for a series of shows in southern Europe in late 2011 and early 2012, the songs written together as a group to be played live. Bobby Donne (Labradford, Cristal) plays bass on multiple tracks, further emphasizing the live band feel. Mark Nelson's deft production touches abound, subtly mixing disparate elements into a fully integrated whole, while Hess prominently displays a myriad of percussion techniques showing a mastery of understated rhythms. The resulting album is a resonant listen that ranks with the best of Pan American's catalog."

BAKER WITH PLURALS, AIDAN: Glass Crocodile Medicine CD (GMT 032CD)15.00"Limited edition of 500 hand-packaged, two track CDs with foil sleeves. Aidan Baker brought British tour-mates Plurals to the studio with him. A gradual unfurling of intricate layers of sound builds and envelopes the listener over 'Dead Foxes in the Street's' 20 minutes, creating a warm and uplifting aural atmosphere. 'Turning Children into Mice' is a brooding, decidedly sinister beast, weaving a repetitive and increasingly dark threat, until it explodes into a hive of noise, and then slowly and poignantly dies a hero's death."

MA SPAVENTI: The Jungle/Insanity 10" (MOSDEEP 014EP)12.50"Insanity" is a mad melange of fizzing electronics, ticking cowbells and swirling atmospheres all pinned to a chugging, deep house beat. Raw drum fills and squelchy, modulated synth sounds take you to a place as intense you could imagine. On the flip, Spaventi's lo-fi aesthetic gets even more fucked up as he delves deep into the recess of house music with "The Jungle." Crunchy hits, echoing hi-hats and a tightly-coiled melody all race along next to each other with a slapping drum combination.

IKE RELEASE: Dream Sequencer 12" (MOSDEEP 015EP)12.50Following on from his increasingly essential work as Innerspace Halflife, Ike Release steps out on his own for a new three-tracker on MOS Deep that finds the Chicago producer in a bullish mood.

MAD DECENT

THREE LOCO: Three Loco EP CD (MAD 181CD)11.00"The Three Locos (Andy Milonakis, Dirt Nasty, and RiFF RAFF) make their Mad Decent debut with a eight song EP. Featuring classic Three Loco cuts like 'Neato' and 'We Are Llamas' plus productions from Diplo, Sinden, 5kinandbone5, Derek Allen, and more."

MAINSTREAM

LIGHTNING HOPKINS: Dirty Blues LP (MRL 326LP)13.00"Twelve songs from Texas's Sam Hopkins, recorded between 1949 and 1951. First released in 1962 as Blues-Folk Volume 3. Mainstream's 1971 reissue featured new cover art and a new title."

MAIS UM DISCOS (UK)

GRAVEOLA: Eu Preciso de um Liquidificador (I Need a Food Processor) CD (MAIS 013CD)15.50Post-tropical polyphonic populists from Minas Gerais in Brazil, Graveola draw influence from kitsch pop radio and dusty classical vinyl to create a sound they call "carnival-cannibalism." On Eu Preciso de um Liquidificador, Graveola mix the canon of 20th century Brazilian music -- in particular samba, bossa, tropicalia and the folk stylings of Minas Gerais' most famous son Milton Nascimento -- with folk, jazz, funk, Latin, baroque and blues influences to create a joyfully exuberant set which brings to mind the playful psychedelic pop of the legendary Os Mutantes. Graveola combine these influences within arresting arrangements, while swooning harmonies, buzzing melodies and hooks-a-plenty ensure that this is a "pop" album of the quirkiest order. The band emerged from Belo Horizonte University in 2004, originally as a trio mixing classics of Brazilian music with pop songs and, according to founder Luiz Gabriel Lopes, finding inspiration in "lyricism, debauchery and TV jingles." At that time, their lack of instruments and musical training led them to incorporate household goods and toy instruments into their sound, hence their full name Graveola e o Lixo Polifônico ("Graveola and the Polyphonic Garbage.) Around 2005 and 2006, new members joined, their numbers swelled and their sound blossomed, and by 2008 they were ready to record their debut album. Eagerly welcomed by the Brazilian music press, the band performed many shows around Brazil and went to Europe for shows in autumn 2012. Mais Um Gringo, the head of Mais Um Discos, recalls seeing Graveola for the first time in Belo Horizonte in 2010: "Their performance blew me away -- a perfect storm of chaos and groove, with six, seven, maybe eight members on stage performing pop vignettes that morphed into baroque jazz pieces then rock freak-outs -- intoxicating stuff."

MOBILEE (GERMANY)

RODRIGUEZ JR.: Back to Back Vol. Seven 2CD (MOBILEE 016CD)21.00When he's not cranking out solid live sets on the international club circuit, blowing up rooftop parties or filling up festival stages, ambitious French producer Rodriguez Jr. commits to some serious time in the studio where he wrapped up this seventh compilation for the Mobilee Back to Back series. As always, CD1 unravels hand-selected recent hits such as Ray Okpara's"Good Times," And.Id's "Black Mamba," Pan-Pot's"White Fiction," Sebo K's "Scenario," and Anja Schneider's "Something That's for Life," and more. CD2 unmasks nine exclusive Back to Back Vol. 7 tracks, produced in collaboration with Anja Schneider, Pan-Pot, Tassilo, And.Id, Sebo K, Ray Okpara, and Safeword. The featured Mobilee artists contributed by throwing in a few loops, stirring in extra sounds and dropping a few beats as Rodriguez Jr. polished them shiny. Volume 7 is the most colorful and eclectic Back to Back yet. Other artists include: Re.You and David Labeij.

MONKEYTOWN (GERMANY)

VA: 50 Weapons Meets Monkeytown Records 12" (MONKEY RSD2013)14.00RSD 2013 release. The A-side represents Modeselektor's 50 Weapons imprint with two exclusive club tracks. The Benjamin Damage album Heliosphere was supposed to contain "Simulation," but the track did not get finished until mastering. SCNTST also remixes Phon.o's "Black Boulder." The B-side represents the eclectic side of Modeselektor's Monkeytown Records label. Mouse On Mars open with "Bonuß," an outtake from WOW. Otto Von Schirach produced an exclusive track for this release, which then got treated by Modeselektor. eLan made "Just Like Heaven" especially for this limited edition vinyl.

MORPHINE RECORDS (ITALY)

CONTAINER: Treatment 12" (DOSER 016EP)12.50Highly-destructive four-track EP from the irrepressible Container, on Morphine Records. Following on from 12"s from the likes of Shake Shakir, Hieroglyphic Being, Madeteo and Metasplice, this one, too, will be blowing up heads.

MORR MUSIC (GERMANY)

ISAN: Beautronics 2LP (MORR 122LP)27.502013 RSD release. Reissue of the first Isan album (originally released on Tugboat/RTD in 1998) as a limited Record Store Day first time ever vinyl release! Including previously-unreleased bonus tracks. Re-mastered and cut by Dubplates & Mastering. One explanation for the '90s-fascination with Casio, Korg and other analog synthesizers is quickly at hand: The first video-game generation was coming of age and were happy to hear that their dearly loved "Space Invaders"-soundtrack was suddenly popping up in electronic music. It takes slightly longer to explain why one record from that time -- Beautronics, the debut by UK synth-duo ISAN, first released in 1998 -- has kept its appeal until today. Beautronics does not grab you immediately. You don't hum these tunes after a few listens; in fact, you might not even hum them after dozens of spins. It's not about humming -- it's about soft cushions and a cozy duvet made of sounds -- it's about aural sheets floating around like warm humidity during a hot bath. Occasionally, it's even about IDM, but in a very late-night kind of way. Antony Ryan and Robin Saville, the two English lads behind Isan, are very open about their goals. They separate the longer tracks with short, often abstract pieces they called "Tints." So it's as much about tonal color as it is about melodies. The "Tints" form an interesting contrast between ambient sounds and the more focused tunes. But even their most bass-dominated songs such as "Skeek" are not exactly four-to-the-floor. There's no more than one to the floor, while the rest is sailing somewhere above in a haze of beautiful sounds and melodies. The album's sleeve and title are straightforward about this: it's all about the human beauty in electronica. Beautronics produces sounds that radiate a warmth and naturalness that make them feel familiar upon first listen. The 15 years since its initial release don't change a thing about this.

MULE MUSIQ (GERMANY)

KUNIYUKI: Shout 12" (MUSIQ 159EP)15.50Second single cut from the Kuniyuki album Feather World. On the A-side, Kuni reconstructs jazzy deep house with some freaky sax. It's not easy to compare to other artists, but it's sort of like KInk meets Joe Claussell. On the B-side, one of Mule Musiq's most respected artists DJ Sprinkles remixes a dark poetry track which legendary '80s singer Anne Clark joins in on for some playful deep house. For all house music lovers.

NECESSARY MAYHEM (UK)

ISAACS, GREGORY: Gregory Isaacs Remixed CD (NECMAY 007CD)16.50Curtis Lynch, the legendary record producer and driving force of Necessary Mayhem, has reworked 10 of the very best tracks from the Gregory Isaacs and Gussie Clarke era, from 1984 to 1999. Curtis was inspired by the works of Clarke & Isaacs during his school days, and his selection of tracks may surprise many fans, as they are not the obvious choices. The attention to detail made Lynch fall in love with Isaacs, and he has selected his personal favorites, saying that "the clear unmixed vocals and instruments were bliss for me to work on." These masterpieces have been remixed and reworked by some of the planet's finest musicians and audio engineers. Featuring contributions from artists such as Dennis Brown & Macka B, Shabba Ranks & Josey Wales, and Da Grynch.

HELIOCENTRICS, THE: 13 Degrees of Reality CD (NA 5097CD)18.00"The Heliocentrics' debut album, Out There (2007) was a confounding piece of work. Drawing equally from the funk universe of James Brown, the disorienting asymmetry of Sun Ra, the cinematic scope of Ennio Morricone, the sublime fusion of David Axelrod, Pierre Henry's turned-on musique concrète, and Can's beat-heavy krautrock, Out There pointed the way towards a brand new kind of psychedelia, one that could only come from a band of accomplished musicians who were also obsessive music fans. Drummer Malcolm Catto and bassist Jake Ferguson are the Heliocentrics' masterminds and producers, and guitarist Ade Owusu, percussionist Jack Yglesisas, and keyboardist Ollie Parfitt hold constant presence within this ever-evolving ensemble. They have been playing together for over a decade and their collective drive is to find an individual voice. The Heliocentrics search for it in an alternate galaxy where the orbits of funk, jazz, psychedelic, electronic, avant-garde, and 'ethnic' music all revolve around 'The One.' Back at Now-Again with 13 Degrees of Reality, the Heliocentrics have returned to develop this epic vision of psychedelic funk, while exploring the possibilities created by their myriad influences -- Latin, African, and more. Thus, the electro-Latin fusion of 'Descarga Electronica' sits next to weeping strings piled atop 'Collateral Damage's' chunky rhythms, which passes undulating swing of 'Wrecking Ball,' a dirge as irresistibly funky as it is devastating. No surprise, then, that the Heliocentrics have earned lifetime fans in the likes of questing spirits like Madlib (with whom Catto has collaborated on numerous Yesterdays New Quintet projects), DJ Shadow (both as a touring ensemble and in the studio), Quantic, and Ethiopian jazz giant Mulatu Astatke, with whom the Heliocentrics recorded and released Inspiration Information 3, the fourth classic Mulatu album -- released nearly forty years after his other three. Out There may have been one hell of an opening volley, but having spent some years in the wild running among mavericks like Astatke and Oriental jazz pioneer Lloyd Miller, The Heliocentrics have realized that their strongest statements are made somewhere between the persistent fuzz of Owusu's distorted guitar, Catto's impossible syncopation and Ferguson's looping bass lines. 13 Degrees of Reality is one of the most distinctive musical statements you'll hear all year."

GHOST CAPSULES: Ghost Capsules CD (CATSOLO 102CD)17.00Electronic band project Ghost Capsules can trace their beginnings back to a Bomb The Bass gig in Vienna. Here it was that Tim Simenon, touring the Back to Light album, met his support band that featured drummer Roman Lugmayr and keyboard player Georg Lichtenauer. The three hit it off -- so much so that Tim relocated from Amsterdam to the Austrian capital. Here the missing piece for the Ghost Capsules jigsaw was found in singer Laura Gomez, who Tim had booked to play at one of his club nights. Proof positive that there's no business as sociable as the music business.

OPAL TAPES (UK)

WANDA GROUP: Piss Fell Out Like Sunlight LP (OPAL 020LP)23.00Wanda Group is the Brighton-based Louis Johnstone, whose prolific output for labels like Astro:Dynamics, NNA Tapes, and Leaving makes him one of the most intriguing voices in contemporary electronic music. Johnstone's recent discography is best understood as a process of refinement: the more overt sampledelia of 2010's Caveman Smack under the Dem Hunger alias has been gradually distilled until only the barely-there remnants of damage and decay remain. With that arc in mind, the excellently-titled Piss Fell Out Like Sunlight for Opal Tapes is perhaps the producer's subtlest, gauziest work yet. Johnstone assembles these two side-length tracks out of large building blocks: 30 seconds or a minute of a single idea, each cross-faded into the next, moments recurring multiple times or bookending others to form oblique poetic sentences. The results function like a particularly cryptic, labyrinthine mini-mixtape. Within that, dance forms occasionally come under scrutiny: early in "Her Stomach on Terror" we're treated to a baleful techno throb over which reedy synths chirrup restlessly; later on, a hard-edged, Andy Stott-esque thump holds sway for a minute or so. The latter half of "Pans Out in the Afterlife" is dominated by a desiccated hulk of a kick drum, dreamy Detroit pads wheeling overhead. But Johnstone's relationship to the current crop of noise-techno fusionists is only passing; mostly this is an album of weightless moments: delicate washes of electrical hum, amplified grit in the wires, burbling synth clusters and stringently buried melodies. What's remarkable is the pathos that Johnstone wrings from these most microscopic of sonic phenomena.

OSTGUT TON (GERMANY)

FUNCTION: Incubation 2x12" (OSTGUT 012LP)21.00Repressed; 2x12" version. An original electronic disciple hailing from New York, Sandwell District's David Sumner aka Function presents his debut album Incubation on Ostgut Ton. Like the soundtrack to a suspenseful techno-thriller, or retro-futurist sci-fi tale, it's a modern sound journey heavy on imagery. Over nine tracks we are guided through the varying moods and scenes of Function's musical temperament. Be it through writhing layered club tracks, soaring string-led atmospheres, or melodic pieces founded on classic electronic traditions, Incubation marks a new level of maturity for the Berlin-based producer. What begins as a lush and blossoming lesson in ambient synth arrangements, with the beautiful arpeggios and waveforms of "Voiceprint," quickly drops off the apex and into the depths of Function's filtering acid world as "Against the Wall" unfolds. This metallic, acidic concept is explored further too, in the final moments of the album with the chilling "Psychic Warfare." A spiraling, organic surge of warm synth tones and other-worldly arpeggios unravels itself in "Counterpoint," acting as an early bridge between some of the drum-led studies that follow. And thus, the pressure increases. "Modifier" presents itself with tight, snaking drum patterns and tense, late '90s kinetic warehouse energy. Opening a path into an alternate, yet not-too distant dimension then, "Incubation (Ritual)" takes form; its haunting and graceful waves of synths continue the sci-fi theme, while the tough modulating bass undercurrent reminds us of Function's big-room techno appeal. The final moments of "Incubation (Ritual)" glide effortlessly into the album version of "Inter," where ethereal melodies and snippets of spoken word surround a classic IDM-deep-house core. "Voiceprint" returns as a (Reprise) version, in what could become the crossover club track of the year. Coming on like a classic R&S or Soma release circa '95, the undulating synths are now caught in a rapturous groove, urged on by a perfect 909 drum pattern. "Psychic Warfare" brings the voyage to a close, its overlapping, ebbing metallic acid tones inducing equal measures of tension and elation. In the CD version of the album, "Gradient I" concludes the voyage. Earthy, modulating bass and 808 patterns merge as a cyclic, audio resolution occurs. In the final mixing stages of the album, Function brought the material to cult engineer and producer Tobias Freund (NSI). Incubation is a bold and powerful album from one of modern techno's key players. Inclined to hold back, rather than release too much, Function has let his sound develop and mature, fusing analog synths and drums with modern production techniques to create something unique and timeless.

OVUM

WINK, JOSH: Balls 12" (OVM 229EP)14.00"Balls" is a 10-minute drive of pulsing intensity baiting towards a huge breakdown, unlike any of Josh Wink's work to date. As he states, "The ten minutes is DJ-friendly and I'm happy that I can express my tale. The track, usual of my work, is based on aural textures and tension. The breakdowns have changed through several attempts, and are now adjusted to drive the crowds, whether in clubs or festivals." "Balls" is represented here in a "Groove" mix and a "Big" mix.

R&S RECORDS (BELGIUM)

VONDELPARK: Seabed 2LP+CD (RS 1306LP)22.50Double LP version; includes CD. "Seabed is a coming of age album, something that could just as easily apply to the impressive transformation that Vondelpark have made during its conception."

ROARATORIO

LACY & JOE MCPHEE, STEVE: The Rest LP (ROAR 028LP)15.00"In June of 1977, Steve Lacy and Joe McPhee shared a double bill in Basel, Switzerland. Lacy invited McPhee to join him for a duet to close his set, for which McPhee elected to bring out his own soprano saxophone. The main part of Lacy's performance was issued on the classic Clinkers LP; after 36 years, here is The Rest. This one-sided, limited LP marks the first and only time that these two master musicians played together, but the simpatico meshing of their distinctly individual voices points towards a shared history on a different plane. Cover artwork by Judith Lindbloom. Download coupon included."

ROCKET RECORDINGS (UK)

GOAT: Run to Your Mama Remixes Vol. 1 12" (LAUNCH 055EP)14.002013 RSD release. Rocket Records presents volume 1 in two limited edition 12"s containing exclusive remixes of Goat's "Run to Your Mama." Goat's 2012 debut World Music (LAUNCH 048CD/LP) gathered rave reviews across the globe, making it one of the underground albums of the year. "Run to Your Mama" was given to a selection of artists to explore Goat's voodoo grooves. Remixes by Thought Forms, High Wolf, Redg Weeks, Tom Furse, and Teeth Of The Sea. Limited to 2,000 copies on blue vinyl and will not be repressed.

GOAT: Run to Your Mama Remixes Vol. 2 12" (LAUNCH 056EP)14.002013 RSD release. Rocket Records presents volume 2 in two limited edition 12"s containing exclusive remixes of Goat's "Run to Your Mama." Goat's 2012 debut World Music (LAUNCH 048CD/LP) gathered rave reviews across the globe, making it one of the underground albums of the year. "Run to Your Mama" was given to a selection of artists to explore Goat's voodoo grooves. Remixes by Gnod & Raikes Parade, Cherrystones, Hookworms, and Cage & Aviary. Limited to 2,000 copies on blue vinyl and will not be repressed.

ROOT STRATA

PAYNE, MAGGI: Ahh-Ahh: Music for Ed Tannenbaum's Technological Feets 1984-1987 LP (RS 081LP)17.00Last copies of this 2012 release. The music on this LP was originally composed by Maggi Payne from 1984-1987 for the performance group Technological Feets. Formed by video artist Ed Tennenbaum in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1981, the group combines dance, live video processing and music. This is the first time these recordings have ever been released on vinyl, and aside from the track "Ahh-Ahh (Ver 2.1)," the first time any of it has ever been officially released. Composed on an Apple II computer & various early sampling devices, Payne's compositions are a vibrant response to the call from the moving body. Populated with buoyant pulses, graceful analog swells, dense, fog-like drones and cascading rhythms that shift in space, AHH-AHH is a vital document of not only these early collaborations, but of computer-based music as well. She studied with many greats in the field, including Gordon Mumma, Robert Ashley & David Behrman.

YOUNGS, RICHARD: Core to the Brave LP (RS 087LP)17.00Last copies of this 2012 release. With scores of releases both solo & in collaboration that stretch back for more than 20 years, Richard Youngs perhaps needs the least amount of introduction of any of the artists Root Strata has worked with. The label is extremely excited to help Richard add another singular entry into his discography. Core to the Brave hits with a shock and never lets up. Composed of what appears to be blown-out bass & spastic drum rhythms, these tracks cascade into shimmering loops of distortion, their weight reaching a critical mass that often feels like it's on the verge of ecstatic collapse. Everything is elevated further in & up by that one and only voice floating over the top like a lush wind come down from the mountains.

RUSH HOUR (NETHERLANDS)

HUNT, GENE: May The Funk Be With You 12" (RH 039EP)12.50The May The Funk Be With You white label gets a full release. Gene Hunt takes a classic warehouse theme and turns it into an almost anthemic, synth-laden Chicago jack tune. Easily his best release in years. His Chicago buddy Theo Parrish turns it into a hypnotic eight-minute-long gospel-techno-jazz workout that just sticks... and keeps getting better with every listen. Addictive stuff!

N.A.D.: Dawn of a New Age 2LP (RH RSS7-LP)23.00Essential 1990 UK techno/electronics album, repressed in its full 2LP glory, plus the additional unreleased track "Infititesimal." Also includes "Distant Drummer," which was released as a 12" back in the day. Originally released by Tony Thorpe's short-lived house label BPM Records in 1990, Dawn of a New Age was on sale for little more than a week before it vanished from record store shelves, the victim of Rough Trade Distribution's demise. BPM folded shortly after, consigning N.A.D.'s first and only album to the annals of history as a little-known and little-heard obscurity. The misfortune that beset the project denied listeners more material from its hitherto unheralded creator, an English producer called Mustafa Ali. Before recording The Dawn of a New Age, he had created an early UK house classic, 1988's "Close Jack Encounter," as L.E Bass. Thorpe saw potential in Ali, and included his "Distant Drums" -- now regarded as one of the first examples of British deep house of the period -- on his House Factor compilation. Thorpe then had another idea. He asked Ali if he fancied recording an entire album in a week. Ali agreed, offering to record a concept album inspired by two of his greatest passions: science fiction and his Islamic faith. The producer was as good as his word, and produced the stunning Dawn of a New Age, full of audible references to both, in seven days. Twenty-four years after it was created, N.A.D's forgotten debut album has become something of a "must-have" for electronic music collectors. Mint copies fetch upwards of 70 Euros on the second-hand market. Now, a whole new generation of house music lovers will get a chance to explore its intoxicating blend of melodic deepness and electronic futurism, thanks to a timely reissue on Rush Hour.

SINECURE

KUGELBERG, JOHAN: Enjoy the Experience: Homemade Records 1958-1992 BOOK/7" (SI 105BK)60.002013 RSD release. "Enjoy the Experience is the largest collection of American private press vinyl ever amassed and presented, featuring over 1,000 reproductions of the cover art of self released titles from 1958-1992. It is the seventh major book release by Johan Kugelberg, the author and editor behind The Velvet Underground: New York Art, Born in the Bronx and Punk: An Aesthetic (Rizzoli), True Norwegian Black Metal (Vice), Brad Pitt's Dog (Zero Books), and Beauty Is in the Street: A Visual Record of the May '68 Paris Uprising (Four Corners). The subjects of Enjoy the Experience range from lesbian folk singers to psychedelic disco bands; awkward teen pop combos to pizza parlor organists; religious cult leaders to swank Sinatra imitators. But this is not a novelty freak show: also profiled and discussed are some of the most highly regarded rock, soul, jazz, funk and singer/songwriter albums from the latter half of the twentieth century. From the awkward-yet-talented to the genius-yet-bizarre, one thing unites all musicians presented here: they sincerely hoped to become stars, they committed themselves to record, and they left themselves vulnerable to an industry not understanding of nuance, not appreciative of character. Enjoy the Experience includes an introduction by editor Johan Kugelberg, a lengthy overview by legendary rare record dealer Paul Major, along with commentaries, hundreds of reviews and over fifty biographies by noted enthusiasts and collectors like Gregg Turkington, Will Louviere, Brandan Kearney, Geoffrey Weiss, Jack Streitman, Eothen Alapatt, Rich Haupt, and Mike Ascherman." 512 pages; hardcover with a removable OBI ribbon. Features a download card to select offerings featured in the book. Comes with a clear vinyl reproduction of a Century Records promotional 7" on "How to Press Your Own Record."

SINO (HONG KONG)

DIXON, TERRENCE: Minimalism Remixes Part 2 12" (SINO 027EP)12.50Native Detroiter Terrence Dixon's long-time alliance with godfather of techno Juan Atkins has helped forge his own powerful sound in the world of minimal techno. Originally released on Claude Young's Utensil Records in 1995. Both Sino (Hong-Kong) and Thema (New-York) join hands to re-release this classic which many consider as one of the early foundations in the minimal techno movement. Sino presents part 2 featuring two remixes by Ben Klock and one by Edwin Oosterwal (Rejected).

SLAVA: Raw Solutions 2LP (SFT 024LP)22.00"Raw Solutions is the debut full-length by Slava, exploring the darker, denser corners of Chicago house and footwork in an ever-broadening context. True to his cross-cultural identity, Slava's production doesn't fit neatly into a categorical genre. Rather, it surveys many and, Zelig-like, borrows freely from them. Slava dissects elements of pop, R&B, hip-hop, vogue house, British bass, and ambient and refocuses them in almost sculptural form for the live experience. The development of Raw Solutions was greatly informed by Slava's performance. Often recorded in single takes directly from a Korg Electribe ESX, the album compositions were crafted from bare machine essentials with few audio effects or sound-design. Slava's command of the mix powers Raw Solutions along a more refined and visceral arc than his previous recorded work. The vocal sample has become a signature element in Slava's carefully constructed balance. The thick and sticky sonic material of the samples contrasts the lean tone of mix element. The space surrounding Slava's skeletal programming becomes muscular with foraged sounds. Over the course of Raw Solutions, the samples dissolve into the production, naturalizing the contrasting presence. Raw Solutions rarely drifts though. The mix remains meticulously assembled -- each part perfectly puzzled-pieced. Mercury's penchant for intricate vocal choreography may have left as deep a stamp on Slava's psyche as his charisma." Gatefold sleeve; includes download code; numbered edition of 1000.

SOUNDWAY (UK)

VA: Nigeria Special Part 1: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues 1970-1976 2LP (SNDW 009A-LP)23.502013 repress. Double LP version with free download. Part 1 of 2. Both vinyl volumes come in deluxe gatefold sleeves & all tracks and liner note info gets covered in both formats. Spectacular work from Soundway! Since 2002, Soundway Records has been synonymous with high-quality and groundbreaking compilations of music from Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Nigeria Special is the most ambitious project yet for the label -- a truly in-depth, double album look at Nigerian music in the early to mid-'70s, encompassing a broad range of styles. Compiler and DJ Miles Cleret has spent five years working on this album -- involving trips to Lagos and around Nigeria interviewing musicians and researching recordings, as well as a suitable amount of time scouring dusty record stores and warehouses for elusive sounds. This compilation presents some of the best un-reissued and forgotten sounds from Nigeria, covering the amazingly vibrant and diverse styles that emerged and flourished at the time. Everything from highlife, jazz, Afro-beat and blues to more traditional styles are represented to give as comprehensive a survey of the scene as possible.

VA: Nigeria Special: Modern Highlife, Afro-Sounds & Nigerian Blues, 1970-1976 2CD (SNDW 009CD)23.002013 repress. Since 2002, Soundway Records has been synonymous with high-quality and groundbreaking compilations of music from Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Nigeria Special is the most ambitious project yet for the label -- a truly in-depth, double album look at Nigerian music in the early to mid-'70s, encompassing a broad range of styles. Compiler and DJ Miles Cleret has spent five years working on this album -- involving trips to Lagos and around Nigeria interviewing musicians and researching recordings, as well as a suitable amount of time scouring dusty record stores and warehouses for elusive sounds. This compilation presents some of the best un-reissued and forgotten sounds from Nigeria, covering the amazingly vibrant and diverse styles that emerged and flourished at the time. Everything from highlife, jazz, Afro-beat and blues to more traditional styles are represented to give as comprehensive a survey of the scene as possible. The 32-page booklet covers a history of the time plus in-depth information on the artists and musicians, as well as a look at the amazing pop-art cover designs of Nigerian records.

MERIDIAN BROTHERS: Niebla Morada (Purple Haze)/Juego Traicion 7" (SNDW 7019EP)12.50Meridian Brothers return with a single that features an off-kilter, champeta version of Jimi Hendrix's classic track "Purple Haze." Straddling the line between new and old, Meridian Brothers' mischievous blend of Latin rhythms and psychedelic grooves is the creation of Eblis Álvarez, one of the key figures of the experimental music scene in Bogota. The B-side is a fast-paced cumbión; '80s video game-style synth riffs bounce along on top of the cumbia rhythm section, while Eblis invokes the singing style of the great vallenato kings.

STAG-O-LEE (GERMANY)

FALCO & PANTHER BURNS, TAV: Sugar Ditch Revisited/The Shake Rag 2CD (STAGO 036CD)19.50The Tav Falco & Panther Burns reissue/remaster series, part two. This one contains the Sugar Ditch Revisited EP (1985) and The Shake Rag EP (1986). Plus a previously-unreleased 11-song/45 minute live show from the Messepalast Vienna from 1989. Pristine recording by the ORF! Sugar Ditch Revisited -- a modest album with a huge cast of the crème of Memphis musicians joining Panther Burns. Jim Dickinson produced the record alongside Roland James, pioneer guitarist on the early Jerry Lee Lewis sides, twirling the knobs at the control board. This record featured two songs Dickinson had found on tapes discarded by Stax during the last days of the studio's existence. Sir Mac Rice an ex-Falcon penned "Tina, The Go Go Queen" and "Money Talks." For these numbers Andrew Love and Ben Cauley were brought in from the Memphis Horns to add that lush and signature lilt of the laid-back "Memphis sound." Alex Chilton played his new guitar -- a rusty Mosrite, the bassist Rene Coman came up from New Orleans for the sessions, Ross Johnson whipped the skins, and a bevy of girlfriends sang backing vocals. Shake Rag -- Panther Burns recorded this dark and lugubrious mini-album at the Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis in 1986. While this was the boom period for lavish alternative, new wave, and no wave music productions, there were only three stalwarts responsible for this record: Jim Dickinson producer, keyboardist, guitarist, Ross Johnson on percussion, and Tav Falco on guitar and voice. There is a raw primitivism howling from these tracks and an unbridled intensity not heard from the band in recorded form since their first record Behind the Magnolia Curtain. Live at Messepalast is a collection of songs cut from a wild and wooly two-hour show on Panther Burns' second tour of Europe in 1989. ORF (Austrian National Radio) was there recording the whole mess in ultra high-fidelity, and the result is what you will hear on this record. Two CDs in 12" replica sleeves, the live show is added to the Shake Rag EP. Includes a 32-page booklet featuring extensive liner notes by Tav Falco himself. Packaged in a special deluxe wraparound wallet sleeve.

FERRARI, LUC: Programme Commun LP (SR 354LP)15.50Sub Rosa presents two substantial pieces from electro-acoustic musique concrete innovator Luc Ferrari: "Programme commun pour clavecin et bande magnetique" (1972), performed by Elisabeth Chojnacka, and another previously-unreleased piece that he held dear: "Les emois d'Aphrodite" (1986/1998), performed by San Francisco's MC Band under his direction. "'Programme commun...': Although cheerful, this piece of music asks a serious question: can one separate one's political and artistic concerns, either directly, as a film can allow, or indirectly, as in this music? Mostly though, this music is my way of commemorating the signing, in 1972, of the Programme Commun. 'Les Emois d'Aphrodite': From the 1986 version I have retained the character of this piece, a kind of disjointed rock that periodically pops up as Aphrodite's dance. I have added harmonic 'manipulations,' or a progression toward disjointed harmony, which is what I currently look for (I have not said 'which is my current aesthetics'). Finally, the introduction of samplers makes it possible to convey the liveliness of time to disjoint tones." --Luc Ferrari

SUBLIME FREQUENCIES

VA: Ethnic Minority Music of Southern China CD (SF 081CD)15.00The fifth Sublime Frequencies volume in Laurent Jeanneau's amazing documentation of vanishing indigenous music of the rural Asian frontiers, this CD focuses on ethnic minority groups of Southern China. Presented here are 17 tracks of supremely infectious vocals and folkloric instrumentals played on a wide variety of local traditional instruments. The centerpiece of this collection is the 13-minute "Do Djui Atsei" (track 5), an absolutely epic male and female group choral vocal piece which is improvised as a song of intimate personal emotions that brings tears to the performers as they are singing together. Jeanneau has spent many years traversing the hills and valleys of Southeast Asia and China, and he has captured a dizzying array of folk music, much of which has never been documented before. He is perhaps the most committed and accomplished procurer of rare and threatened music from the region and seems more focused than ever as he states in his liner notes for this release: "In China, by the end of the 1950s, 400 ethnic groups registered to be counted in the census. There might be 300 remaining groups nowadays. I was facing an incredible amount of potential musicians. Now after six years spent in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces, I have recorded 55 CDs of raw stuff. This Sublime Frequencies product is a compilation from those CDs, displaying the diversity I was able to find between 2006 and 2012, and I'm not finished." This disc comes with a 16-page booklet of detailed notes and photographs of the musicians by Laurent Jeanneau.

SUBLIMINAL SOUNDS (SWEDEN)

GRUDZIEN, PETER: The Unicorn/The Garden of Love 2LP (SUBL 023LP)36.002013 repress on vinyl -- the rare, legendary and highly praised urban hillbilly one-man-band "outsider artist" LP from 1974. The "first psychedelic country concept" album featuring bluegrass mountain music Americana from the twilight zone mixed with tape effects, musique concrète, fuzz guitar, surreal lyrics, imagery and themes from religion, death, sex and other timely concerns. Also included is a bonus LP record, The Garden of Love, with some truly amazing and haunting unreleased material spanning the 1950s-1970s. The Garden of Love LP includes, amongst others, a song about wandering around in the desert eating peyote. All the music has been carefully transferred from the master tapes and is a facsimile of the original album (previous CD-only reissues contained altered mixings). Read more about Peter Grudzien in the Incredibly Strange Music and Songs in the Key of Z books. This release features a gatefold sleeve with the original The Unicorn artwork plus loads of photos and liner notes.

SKOGEN BRINNER: 1st CD (SUBL 097CD)14.50The debut album from Skogen Brinner is a wasted, slimy, speed-freak vortex of polluted proto-metal risen from a self-loathing nurtured by an increasingly greasy wasteland called Sweden. Wicked, toxic and manic rock, psychotic vocals, gnarly guitars, cavernous bass and drums beat to a pulp. A quick glare at the cover and you're savvy on what it's about. "The idea is probably to create rotten hard rock with a drive and without too many frills. Maybe you can compare us with a Z-grade flick: bad... but still damn good in a strange way." Skogen Brinner consists of four young reprobate souls; Jesper Aronsson (vocals), David Forsberg (guitar), Joel Carnstam (bass), Jonathan Eriksson (drums), who, despite their situation, are now trying to break the negative spiral of self-destruction with sound therapy. They have played, even if the result sometimes becomes terrible. They have played with each other and with their bodies, with toxins and with their strength. They have played with the values which society and parents slipped on them.

SUBTEXT (UK)

JEBANASAM, PAUL: Rites LP (SUB 008LP)20.00LP version. Subtext presents the debut album from UK-based Sri Lankan artist, Paul Jebanasam. Rites brings together five settings of stark sonic poetry whose underlying logic bridges the worlds of contemporary classical, metal, sacred music and sound design. The pieces explore the central themes of grace and savagery, contrasting historical musical languages with the emergence of visceral sonics and immersive tonality, overlaying the past on to the present and considering the possibilities of sound as an eternal, universal medium embedded within the order of civilization. Rites takes its central inspiration from Jebanasam's exploration of liturgical music while integrating aspects of his seminal production work for the Bristol-based Tectonic label and his defining role in the re-emergence of Subtext in 2011. Through the five ceremonial passages, Rites brings together a unified vision of existence projected across human memory, merging the primal impulse of metal, noise and richly-textured drone with the tension and emotional narrative of classical composition. The material summons these elements together, evoking a machine of incalculable scale, forging a world distinct of time where man's transit and reckonings merge with a vast and unforeseeable purpose. The visible and invisible stream together into pools of chaos and sanctity, a landscape stalked by the unknown, the human spirit uttering a desolate whisper to the spirit of its ancestors. Rites brings these classical themes together into an immersive statement that considers the possibilities for contemporary composition to connect with new sonic forms, exploring abstracted structures and sculptural synthesis, and ultimately examining music's potential to converse with its earliest origins while being embedded in the present.

TAPETE (GERMANY)

HELLSONGS: Iron Man 7" (TR 265EP)7.002013 RSD release. "Iron Man" is the first single taken from the forthcoming Hellsongs album, These Are Evil Times.... Never before have Hellsongs sounded so happy, and never before have they been accompanied by a drummer urging your feet to stomp, a bass that invites you to dance and an organ that commands your lips to smile. So get your yeah-yeahs out in the air -- it's time to celebrate, it's time to dance, it's time to put this rascal on repeat.

TECTONIC (UK)

PINCH & ROSKA: Shoulda Roll/Asbestos 12" (TEC 070EP)11.00"Shoulda Rolla" is the product of an almighty collaboration between Tectonic head-honcho Pinch and Rinse FM's Roska. The pair have come up with something that sounds both familiar and fresh in equal measure, revitalizing many ghosts of grime and dubstep past with brain-bending atmospherics, precision drum programming and a full, engaging tribal momentum. Packed with enough sub-bass weight to shake a soundsystem to pieces and a demented mid-range sound that emulates an enraged robotic elephant, "Asbestos" is one for the deeper heads.

TEMPA (UK)

SP:MC: Declassified EP 2x12" (TEMPA 075EP)18.00MC-turned-producer extraordinaire SP:MC has announced his most expansive release to date, the four-track Declassified EP. Sci-fi signifiers are everywhere here, making for a dark and dystopian listen: the title-track and "Launch Code" meld chrome-plated percussion and spacecraft engine roar to rhythmic sub-bass, and "Air Lock" matches its name, its gaseous hiss and lurching percussion evoking sensations of being plunged into zero-gravity. The package is rounded off with "Kenshin," a fearsome collaboration with dubstep figurehead Youngsta.

TERANGA BEAT (SENEGAL)

DIEUF-DIEUL DE THIES: Aw Sa Yone Vol. 1 CD (TBCD 017CD)19.50Teranga Beat proudly presents Dieuf-Dieul de Thiès in their first-ever edition. Three singers Assane Camara, Bassirou Sarr, and Gora Mbaye, together with their chef d'orchestre and guitar player Pape Seck (an ex-member of Guelewar) compose traditional rhythms from all the regions of Senegal, with fuzz guitars, horn sections and hallucinatory percussion. The result is an explosive mixture of an electric psychedelic sound with the wisdom and superiority of the musical traditions of the region, a crossover of Afro-manding and Afro-jazz, in which each singer guides the 13-member band in a different direction. Even today, this 32 year-old recording sounds futuristic and it is really rather weird that Dieuf-Dieul de Thiès never had the chance to release an actual album. Aw Sa Yone Vol. 1 includes the biggest part of their second recording. Included in the CD version is a booklet with photos and liner notes outlining the group members' careers. There was no other group in Senegal with such a variety of cultural background and a strong identity. Senegalese music at its best.

THRILL JOCKEY

OVAL: Systemisch 2LP (THR 032LP)19.002013 RSD release. " The extremely influential 1994 classic album from Oval is finally re-issued on vinyl. Freshly cut to vinyl by Roger Seibel at SAE Mastering the two LPs are pressed on clear vinyl and housed in black paper inner sleeves, packaged in a jacket replicating the original. Included for the first time is a free download coupon. Limited to 1,500 units worldwide. Systemisch was the debut Oval album released on Thrill Jockey. On this recording Oval was Markus Popp, Sebastian Oschatz and Frank Metzger."

OVAL: 94diskont LP+12" (THR 036LP)19.002013 RSD release. 2013 RSD release. "The extremely influential 1995 classic album from Oval is finally re-issued on vinyl. Freshly cut to vinyl by Roger Seibel at SAE Mastering the two LPs are pressed on orange vinyl and packaged in a jacket replicating the original. LP1 is the album, LP2 is a 12" featuring remixes from Jim O'Rourke, Scanner, Mouse on Mars, and Christian Vogel. Included for the first time is a free download coupon. Limited to 1,500 units worldwide."

VA: Imaginational Anthem Vols. 1-5 6CD BOX (TSQ 2790CD)38.00"Since 2005, Tompkins Square label's Imaginational Anthem compilations have featured some of the greatest acoustic guitarists in the world, with recordings spanning five decades. More than mere samplers, these albums have served as state-of-the-art dispatches from the front lines of the art form. Imaginational Anthem Vols. 1-5 is a specially priced 6CD box set, limited to 999 copies, featuring the first five volumes in their originals packaging, plus an exclusive live bonus disc from William Tyler (Lambchop), entitled 'Elvis Was a Capricorn,' not available in any other format."

VA: Imaginational Anthem Vol. 6 CD (TSQ 2851CD)14.00"If American primitive guitar begins with John Fahey and the Takoma School, then the actual origins of this sound are found within this collection of fourteen classic solo guitar performances. Recorded between 1923 and 1930, this set is the 'Rosetta Stone' of style and repertoire tapped into deeply by Fahey, Basho, and Rose, among many others. Sam McGee, Riley Puckett, Bayless Rose, Sylvester Weaver, Lemuel Turner, Frank Hutchinson, and Davey Miller are the rural artists included in this anthology. Each one of these showcases a particular technique and sensitivity sourced from the earlier 19th century parlor guitar tradition. Several of these sides are reissued for their first time including Sylvester Weaver's 'Guitar Blues,' which is the first solo finger picked guitar solo ever recorded. Stunningly remastered and annotated by Christopher King."

VA: Imaginational Anthem Vol. 6 LP (TSQ 2868LP)16.002013 RSD release. Comes in a gatefold sleeve. "If American primitive guitar begins with John Fahey and the Takoma School, then the actual origins of this sound are found within this collection of fourteen classic solo guitar performances. Recorded between 1923 and 1930, this set is the 'Rosetta Stone' of style and repertoire tapped into deeply by Fahey, Basho, and Rose, among many others. Sam McGee, Riley Puckett, Bayless Rose, Sylvester Weaver, Lemuel Turner, Frank Hutchinson, and Davey Miller are the rural artists included in this anthology. Each one of these showcases a particular technique and sensitivity sourced from the earlier 19th century parlor guitar tradition. Several of these sides are reissued for their first time including Sylvester Weaver's 'Guitar Blues,' which is the first solo finger picked guitar solo ever recorded. Stunningly remastered and annotated by Christopher King."

POOLE WITH THE HIGHLANDERS, CHARLIE: The Complete Paramount & Brunswick Recordings 1929 CD (TSQ 2875CD)14.00"From 1926 to 1930 one of the most popular rural string bands on record was Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers. Through their 78 RPM discs and their various performances, Charlie Poole was second only to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. Poole's uniquely syncopated three finger banjo picking style coupled with his Piedmont vocal inflections eventually colored and defined much of what we consider 'old-time' music. The classic configuration of banjo, fiddle, and guitar with vocals was encouraged by the main label that promoted Poole, but he also wanted to record instrumentals featuring twin-fiddle and piano. After renaming his group The Highlanders, Poole was able to actualize this musical vision. This collection contains all of the sides that Poole made with Roy Harvey, Lucy Terry, and twin-fiddlers Lonnie Austin and Odell Smith. Remastered in beautiful sound by Christopher King and with notes written by old-time musician and scholar Kinney Rorrer. All sides recorded in New York, New York, 1929."

POOLE WITH THE HIGHLANDERS, CHARLIE: The Complete Paramount & Brunswick Recordings 1929 LP (TSQ 2882LP)16.002013 RSD release. Comes with a poster. "From 1926 to 1930 one of the most popular rural string bands on record was Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers. Through their 78 RPM discs and their various performances, Charlie Poole was second only to Gid Tanner and His Skillet Lickers. Poole's uniquely syncopated three finger banjo picking style coupled with his Piedmont vocal inflections eventually colored and defined much of what we consider 'old-time' music. The classic configuration of banjo, fiddle, and guitar with vocals was encouraged by the main label that promoted Poole, but he also wanted to record instrumentals featuring twin-fiddle and piano. After renaming his group The Highlanders, Poole was able to actualize this musical vision. This collection contains all of the sides that Poole made with Roy Harvey, Lucy Terry, and twin-fiddlers Lonnie Austin and Odell Smith. Remastered in beautiful sound by Christopher King and with notes written by old-time musician and scholar Kinney Rorrer. All sides recorded in New York, New York, 1929."

TRAFFIC

BRAND NUBIAN: One for All 2LP (TEG 75503LP)20.00"When released at the end of 1990 Brand Nubian's One for All emerged into musical landscape yet to be littered with disposable hip hop. The politically charged and socially conscious material brought acclaim to the project, both critically and commercially. The Source granted the album a full on Five Mics saying Brand Nubian's debut 'overflows with creativity, originality, and straight-up talent.' Even Robert Christgau of the Village Voice, who's reviews often read like a riddle penned by a hater, laced One for All with a solid A-. By the late '90s the record had been named one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums with the single 'Slow Down' on their list of Top 100 hip hop singles of all time. Sure, militant five percenter beliefs (among other things) stirred controversy. Yet the music found here remains relevant and has stood the test of time. Besides, some of us miss the days when inflammatory rhetoric in hip hop could cause controversy. Long out of print on vinyl, Traffic Entertainment now proudly presents this fresh pressing of one of hip hop's most crucial releases. A moment in time captured in the grooves of the double vinyl pressing for the world to remember how great the genre can be."

TROST (AUSTRIA)

BROTZMANN CHICAGO TENTET, PETER: Concert for Fukushima, Wels 2011 DVD (TROST 114DVD)21.00Concert film by Pavel Borodin featuring the Peter Brötzmann Chicago Tentet benefit concert at the Music Unlimited Festival in Wels, Austria. Guests: Toshinori Kondo, Michiyo Yagi, Otomo Yoshihide, and Akira Sakata. It was a special wish of the curator of the 2011 Music Unlimited Festival, Peter Brötzmann, to organize a charity concert in aid of the Fukushima nuclear disaster recovery effort. For that purpose, the Chicago Tentet, one of Brötzmann's main bands for the last 15 years, invited four leading Japanese musicians to play with them for one set of approximately 25 minutes each. And it turned out to be one of the highlights of a festival that certainly was not short of highlights. Half of the proceeds raised from this benefit concert were donated to the Japanese organization "Save Takata," which is implementing restoration activities centered around the city of Rikuzentakata, where enormous losses were suffered following the Japan earthquake of March 11, 2011. The other half went to "Project Fukushima!," a multi-faceted long-term project launched, among others, by Otomo Yoshihide and determined to turn Fukushima, a name which now has a stigma attached to it worldwide, into a positive word. Shot on November 6, 2011 at Stadttheater, Wels, Austria. The entire profit of the sales of this DVD will be donated to Yoshihide's organization "Project Fukushima!". Running time: 105 minutes, color, NTSC format, region free, aspect ratio: 16:9, audio: PCM stereo. Special features: interview with Otomo Yoshihide, PanRec trailers, Trost releases.

UK DECAY (UK)

UK DECAY: New Hope for the Dead LP (UKDEC 002LP)26.50Limited LP version housed in a textured laminated sleeve. Post-punk band UK Decay's first full-length studio album in 30-years. New Hope for the Dead is a heavy, sonic assault built upon the politics of dissent. Produced by rock legend Chris "The Dark Lord" Tsangerides, the new songs cover a wealth of subjects, from the fracturing nature of society and the twin evils of extremism and bigotry, to the lack of engagement by today's generation and the attraction of things that ultimately harm us. "We're not here for a nostalgic reunion, we're here because we've got something to say," says singer Abbo. "There's been three or four generations of music since we split up but no one's really taken up the mantle of kicking against a world of apathy, discrimination, and totalitarianism." Long-hailed as one of the godfathers of post-punk, UK Decay reformed after a hiatus of three decades. Since then, they have played to audiences across Europe and have been well-received by a new generation of fans, alongside those who saw them the first time around. "We're finding our voice resonates with old and new alike," says guitarist Spon. "It's a new time but the same problems exist. We've always been a political band, but one that's able to reference human passions, too. The new album encapsulates all of that and presents it with a sound that's the best we've ever achieved."

UNCLE HOWIE RIP

NON PHIXION: I Shot Reagan 7" (UHR 454EP)11.002013 RSD release. "When MCs ILL BILL, Goretex, Sabac, and DJ Eclipse came together for the first time in 1995, nobody could have predicted the tremors they would create throughout hip-hop history. Though the group eventually split in 2006, their reputation remains strong as ever and grows with this special Record Store Day release of one of their first great singles, 'I Shot Reagan.' Brought to you for the first time ever on a 7" record, this 45 contains the eponymous single as well as the B-side 'Refuse to Lose.' Both tracks highlight Non-Phixion's strongest assets: hard-edged beats, sharp, thought-provoking lyrics, urban dystopian atmospheres, and a tongue-in-cheek sense of camaraderie not unlike the Wu-Tang Clan."

VAMPISOUL (SPAIN)

CARBONO, ABELARDO: Muevela/La Negra del Negrerio 7" (VAMPI 45057EP)8.002013 RSD release. To celebrate this year's Record Store Day, Vampisoul is releasing two tracks off their forthcoming Abelardo Carbonó compilation, El Maravilloso Mundo De, as a limited 7". Recorded in the early 1980s, these two tracks are just a small example of the genius of Colombia's Abelardo Carbonó, one of the most original musicians in Latin America. His music, which could be described as "proto champeta," is the result of many influences: Congolese music, cumbia, disco, Afrobeat, pop, Haitian compas, and psychedelic guitar.

VERTICAL RECORDS (GERMANY)

KITBUILDERS: You Trashed My Tracks CD (VERTICAL 006CD)15.50Alongside American outfits like Adult. and Fischerspooner, Kitbuilders formed the forefront of the worldwide electro revolution. Equal parts Moroder and Liquid Sky, the duo of Benway and Ripley fluctuate between adrenaline-rush BPM 909 beats, fluttering sci-fi arpeggiations, and tense, sinister moodiness. The Jockey Slut wrote: "Like Adult. on crack, Kitbuilders attack with encompassing bonkers electro pop, dark and hard electro... Electro with guts, pop with personality, the Kitbuilders demand your attention." Wake Up was the debut full-length from the duo. XLR8R called it "an excellent hybrid of the past and present." The Kitbuilders did many kicking live shows at festivals like Sónar, Benicassim, Roskilde, Alive, Eurosonic, Arvika etc., and clubs in London (Fabric), New York, San Francisco, Madrid, Paris, Oslo, Helsinki, Brussels, Istanbul, Tel Aviv, Berlin, etc. Their last album You Trashed My Mind (Vertical Records/Kompakt) features 15 trax of energy, love, weirdness and flow with varied influences and the typical Kitbuilders signature sound. You Trashed My Tracks is an adventurous compilation of remixed Kitbuilders songs from the You Trashed My Mind album by Ascii Disko, Terrence Dixon, Bob Humid, Bolz Bolz, Radioaktive Man, Salz, Ear Monk aka RA-X, Falko Brocksieper, and others.

VINILISSSIMO (SPAIN)

CRAMPS, THE: Songs The Lord Taught Us LP (MRSSS 501LP)25.00Repressed; first reissue on vinyl of The Cramps' full-album debut on Illegal Records, originally released in 1980. The jacket reads "File under: sacred music" but only if one's definition includes the holy love of rockabilly sex-stomp, something which the Cramps fulfill in spades. Years later, this album still drips with threat and desire, both testament to the band's worth and Alex Chilton's just-right production. On 180 gram vinyl.

CRAMPS, THE: Psychedelic Jungle LP (MRSSS 502LP)25.00Repressed; first ever reissue on vinyl of The Cramps' second album, and the same atmosphere of swampy, trashy, rockabilly-into-voodoo ramalama reigns supreme. Originally released on IRS Records in 1981, The Cramps' style comes through big time, with Lux Interior throwing in yells, yipes, and other sounds, where appropriate. 180 gram vinyl.

TOMORROW: Tomorrow LP (MRSSS 505LP)25.00Early British psychedelia band Tomorrow, alongside Soft Machine and Pink Floyd, were the most relevant of the London-based underground sound circa 1967. They were formed by Keith West ("Excerpt From A Teenage Opera" aka "Grocer Jack," which inspired The Who's Tommy), John "Twink" Alder on drums (who replaced Viv Prince in The Pretty Things and later formed The Pink Fairies) and Steve Howe, prodigal guitarist from the Syndicats on its way to form highly successful progs Yes. The group only managed to record one album before breaking up in 1968. That sole album is a solid effort, with quite a few first-rate tracks featuring backward guitar phasing ("My White Bicycle"), electric Sitar riffin'("Real Life Permanent Dream") and infections pre-hippie anthems ("Revolution"). It's a record full of gentle harmonies and hooky melodies with affectingly trippy lyrics. A great psych pop album from one of the most fascinating eras in music history. Officially available for the first time with its original artwork and tracklist sequence. On 180 gram vinyl.

WARP RECORDS (UK)

!!!: Thr!!!er CD (WARP 236CD)15.50"Famous for their high-energy live shows and relentless touring schedule, !!! (pronounced Chk Chk Chk) have focused their efforts on crafting an album with tighter song structures, and the results are stunning. Produced by Jim Eno, the drummer from Spoon."

WE PLAY HOUSE (BELGIUM)

LUV JAM VS SRF INC: Wales vs Germany: 2-2 12" (WPH 018EP)12.50This We Play House release comes from two trusted label names: WPH's Welsh man with various plans Luv Jam and SRF Inc, a moniker for German wunderkind Dynamodyse. We Play Mouse" and "We Play Ooidonk" talk that classic Luv Jam walk. SRF Inc is everything that Dynamodyse is not; SRF Inc is everything that Dynamodyse is, too. Just as Luv Jam's music talks for him, so it does for SRF Inc.

WOOL (FRANCE)

FOXES IN FICTION + BENOIT PIOULARD: Ground Glass 7" (WR 023EP)9.00Limited and silkscreened 7" (200 copies only). Warren Hildebrand (aka Foxes In Fiction) and Thomas Meluch (aka Benoît Pioulard) have been acquaintances for a number of years. The idea of a collaboration began to take shape and they finally began exchanging songs and files, eventually building up to the two epic pieces heard on this, their debut 7" for Wool Recordings.

YOUNG AMERICANS (UK)

ORAM, DAPHNE: Oramics 4LP (YOUNGAM 001LP)47.002013 repress, originally released in 2010. Young Americans is a new label operating under the Modern Love umbrella, proud to present an extremely special vinyl pressing of some of the most important early electronic music ever made. Daphne Oram was the founder of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, a department she more or less single-handedly created in 1958, camping out at the BBC studios for nights on end splicing tapes and working with various modified machines to create her abstract soundscapes. Eventually the BBC bent under her pressure and in studio 13 created the soon-to-be-legendary Radiophonic Workshop, with Daphne Oram as its first director. Oram also invented her own "drawn-sound" technique, a process whereby strips of 35mm film would be manipulated before being fed into her home-made "Oramics" machine which would convert and "read" the film into sound. Despite her considerable and historic list of achievements, Oram's life and work remain largely unknown by the wider public. As this remarkable 44-track collection shows, however, her work ranks amongst the most varied and pioneering ever made, and it's quite incredible to think that this is the first time any of these precious recordings have been available on vinyl. 155 minutes/8 sides of vinyl cut by Lupo at D&M, housed in a heavyweight 300 gram gatefold sleeve, featuring rare archive photographs.

Z RECORDS (UK)

HILL, DAVID: Overdose of the Holy Ghost 2CD (ZEDD 028CD)17.00Z Records returns with a long overdue gospel album compiled by David Hill. The album leads with a track from The Clark Sisters, who are without doubt one of the most successful and prolific family gospel groups of the last 40 years. Originally released on S.O.G. Records (Sounds of Gospel), Overdose of the Holy Ghost was recorded in 1981 and would go on to become the group's biggest crossover hit after being licensed to Elektra Records and released internationally in 1983. The "Queen of Gospel Music," Shirley Caesar turns in a smoldering, socially-conscious, Philadelphia International inspired groover with "Message to the People." Gospel artists are well-known for taking popular secular songs -- or riffs from them -- and adapting the lyrics to take the song in a spiritual direction. Kristle uses The Emotions' "Best of My Love" as its foundation, and builds from a slow intro, gradually turning up the heat until it's the dancefloor burner that is "I'll Go." Further highlighting gospel music's influence on current music production, we have Norman Weeks & The Revelations' "Hold On" which first appeared on an obscure, and rare, 12" on Rent productions. Rahni Harris is primarily known for "Six Million Steps," which became a classic on the early UK jazz-funk scene, but what most don't realize is that "Six Million Steps" is actually the instrumental B-side of the 1977 vocal gospel song originally released on the Inspirational Sounds label. It was only when the track was licensed by Mercury in 1978 that the B-side became the A-side and made its way onto the dancefloors of Essex. "He's My Friend" was recorded a couple of years earlier, when young Rahni was just 21. With further disco and funk-induced soul provided by BeBe & CeCe Winans, Gloster Williams & Master Control, D.J. Rogers, James Moore, The Dynamic Clark Sisters with Mattie Moss Clark, Sharon Johnson and many more gospel luminaries, plus exclusive edits from David Hill and Z Records' Joey Negro, Overdose of the Holy Ghost is a shining example of church music that has been influenced by secular soul that was built for the dancefloor. David Hill began his music career in 1994 as a member of the Ballistic Brothers, together with Ashley Beedle and Rocky & Diesel of X-Press 2. In 1994 he co-founded the Nuphonic record label that also produced the Sony award-winning London Xpress radio show for Xfm. He continues to work as a music consultant to several record companies and on personal projects such as "Rootikal," the monthly roots reggae night, and has a number of reissue and compilation projects currently in production. He is also currently overseeing the production of a book and an accompanying touring exhibition that will showcase Bill Bernstein's photographs of New York nightlife in the late '70s.

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